


That Sinking Feeling

by Turchinorain



Series: Twists of Time [3]
Category: Time Warp Trio (Cartoon)
Genre: Enemies, Fantasy, Friendship, RMS Titanic, Time Travel, historical fiction - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2019-10-05 05:57:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17319284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Turchinorain/pseuds/Turchinorain
Summary: When Fred accidentally warps himself and Sam onboard the Titanic, it's a race against the clock to find The Book and warp home before the ill-fated ship hits an iceberg and sinks. Things become complicated though when an old enemy makes an unexpected appearance. But are they here for payback, or do they have another goal?





	1. Chapter 1

The frosty night is silent and calm. The only sound to be heard is the silky whisper of waves and the occasional small splash. The inky black sky, peppered with tiny stars, is suddenly brightened by the swirling green vortex. Two screams cut through the silence as the vortex spits out two teenage boys before disappearing again. 

“Owww,” Sam groans as he sits up, “What did I land on?”

“Me,” Fred grunts, “Now get off.”

Sam scrambles off of Fred and they both look around in confusion, letting their eyes adjust to the darkness. Polished wooden floors, a railing, deck chairs, and ocean as far as the eye can see. Fred shivers as the cold closes around him.

 He jumps up and down a little to get his blood flowing. “Holy crap! What happened to the heat!?”

“F-f-Fred,” Sam pulls his jacket tighter around him, “I swear if you warped us to Antarctica again-”

“Will you relax? I think we’re on a cruise ship. Check out the deck chairs.”

“With our luck I doubt it, but if we are on a cruise, this is some pretty unusual weather to have one.”

Fred rolls his eyes and starts walking around, trying to keep warm. He finds the railing to lean over and gives a low whistle. They are a lot higher up than he expected. Just how big is this ship?

“T-Titanic!?”

“Yeah, this ship is really huge,” Fred looks at Sam in surprise, “But how did you know what I was thinking?”

“No, Fred!” Sam shakes his head and points to a door in fear, “This is the R.M.S Titanic. We’re on the Titanic!” 

“As in that movie girls always want to watch?”

“No, Titanic as in that ship that hit an iceberg, sank, and over seventy percent of the people died.”

“Oh.” Fred shivers and this time it’s not from the cold. He remembers that movie did not end well so it’s no wonder why Sam looks so freaked out. And to think, the day started out so well too. 

* * *

Brooklyn was a pretty nice sixty degrees for April, but the ground was still muddy from the left-over melted snow so gym was held inside. Which meant dodgeball day. Red and yellow balls fly throughout the gym. Mixed shouts of fear and excitement bounce off the walls. The teams are divided in the usual way; jocks and popular kids on one side, nerds and rejects on the other side. Fred, of course, is captain of the more athletic team. He dodges the flying balls easily and lobs a few in return, pegging some kids out. 

“Way to go, Fred!” Someone cheers him. 

Fred grins in their general direction before catching a ball thrown at him, getting the pitcher out, and throws it at someone else, and gets that person out too. This is easily the best part of the day for him. P. E. and lunch were the only two breaks he got during the eight-hour hell that was the school day. Lunch was great, but P.E was where he could really cut loose and have some fun. He pegs a ball at the final kid on the opposing team, hitting him square in the chest and making him double over with a hoarse gasp. His entire team cheers but the teacher blows his whistle and gives Fred a disapproving frown for being rough. 

“Alright, game over! Hit the showers!” The teacher orders. 

There are a couple of groans of disappointment, Fred’s among them. He files into the locker room with the rest of the guys. Showers start running, filling part of the locker room with steam, and the usual locker room talk takes place. Talk about girls, general bragging, and complaining about homework and teachers. 

“Good play out there, man,” Kevin, another baseball player, claps him on the shoulder, “I thought that loser was going to piss his pants.” 

“I didn’t hit him that hard,” Fred laughs, “But that’s what happens when you’re on the losing team.”

“I think that’s anyone who isn’t on your team dude.”

Fred laughs and flexes his arm, “That’s because I’m the best there is.”

“Second best maybe,” Kevin scoffs and flexes his own bicep, a half inch bigger than Fred’s. 

Fred whacks him with his hat before getting up to get in the shower. He’s barely sweaty and normally he wouldn’t bother, but he didn’t really feel like going to his next class either. He takes his time under the semi-hot water until the last shower cuts off and the sound of the other guys fade away. Even then he takes his time getting dressed and by the time he gets into the hallway it’s mostly empty. There are only a few minutes before the bell rings, everyone else is probably in class by now. 

“Perfect,” He grins as he casually strolls through the hallway, “Now I can just go home, relax, maybe order some take out...” He trails off as he turns the corner though and his grin fades, “Ah dang...”

 Fina is standing with her back to the lockers carrying a load of books. In front of her are three girls; two Fred recognized as Mallory and Stephanie, cheerleaders, and the third was Lindsey, known for hosting amazing parties whenever her parents were out of town. But by the look of it, they weren't talking about a party. Even though she’d been here for more than a few weeks now, Fina hasn’t exactly made friends with anyone. Actually, according to Joe, Fina pretty much only speaks to him, even giving the teachers one worded answers. And for some reason, that did not seem to sit well with the girls. Fred honestly had no idea why. It was probably some weird girl thing. 

“Are you some kind of mute?” Mallory sneers, “Or do you just think you’re too good to talk to anyone?”

“Aw leave her alone, she’s probably just shy,” Stephanie laughs and tugs on one of Fina’s braids, “I mean, look at her, she’s like a little girl.”

Fina had been looking at the floor the entire time, but as soon as Stephanie touches her hair, her eyes shoot up to her face, giving her a dead stare. Stephanie looks like she swallowed a fly and quickly drops her hand. 

“God you’re creepy,” Lindsey shudders, “Like some creepy doll or something.”

“She probably still plays with dolls. You do, don’t you?”

The three girls laugh and Fred finally decides to step in. Usually, he stays out of girl drama, but Fina’s not even defending herself. She’s just standing there like she really is mute, which isn’t exactly helping her case. 

“Come on guys, leave her alone,” He walks towards them and the three girls immediately give him much friendlier smiles. 

“Hey Fred,” Stephanie grins, “We were just teasing her. Trying to be friendly, you know.”

“Sure, you were,” Fred smirks playfully. Honestly, she probably thought she was being friendly. He’s seen girls tease each other one day, and be best friends the next day. “But the bell’s about to ring. You’re going to be late for class.”

“Or we could all ditch together and go to the mall,” Lindsey bats her eyes, “I’ll let you buy me a smoothie.”

“Gee I wish I could, but I have a quiz next class. You know how the coach is about our grades.”

“Oh, fine.” Lindsey pouts as the bell rings and the last of the stragglers hurry to class. “We’ll just see you later, Fred.”

“Bye, Fred.”

“See you, Fred.”

The three of them hurry off to class. Mallory accidentally (on purpose) bumps Fina’s shoulder as she passes, making her spill all her books. Fina silently kneels down to pick them up. Her hair hangs over her eyes so it’s hard to see her expression, but Fred still feels bad for her. He sighs and bends down too. 

“Here, let me help.”

“I can manage,” Fina says quietly, “I faced warlords before, a couple of girls don’t scare me. 

“I hate to tell you, but this would happen a lot less if you talked to people. Those girls aren’t that bad when you get to know them.”

“They’re certainly nice to you.”

“Because I talk to them. Hang out and stuff. They’d be a lot nicer to you if you did too.”

Fina gives him a look, “I highly doubt that. Besides, it’s not as easy as you make it sound. I wouldn’t know what to say to people. In case you haven’t realized, I’m not exactly a typical teenage girl.”

Fred rolls his eyes and his eyes land on another book. It’s a paperback with a picture on the cover of a busty brunette wearing a half-torn dress in the arms of a super muscular, dark-haired sailor with his shirt flying open. They’re standing at the bow of a ship with a gaudy sunset in the background and the title  _Rough Seas, Gentle Hands_ written in fancy script. 

Fred grabs it in surprise, "Is this yours?”

“Give me that!” Fina practically shrieks and snatches it from him. 

“You read trashy romance novels?” Fred laughs, “I thought you said you weren’t like typical teenage girls.”

“Shut up!” Fina’s face is now a bright pink and she glares at him, making him laugh more. 

Fred tries to quiet the rest of laughter, if only not to alert any teachers that they were out here and not in class. He was hoping to be halfway home by now but helping Fina cost him some serious time. 

“You should get to class,” Fina stands up with her books in hands and turns to her locker. Her cheeks are still pink but her voice is quiet again. “You don’t want to miss your quiz.”

“Oh, I lied about that, I was planning on ditching,” Fred smiles as an idea comes to him, “Wanna ditch with me?”

Fina goes still for a moment and tilts her head, “Joe did have to leave early for a doctor’s appointment. There really is no point in me being here without him. I guess I could leave.”

“Great! Get your stuff and let’s go before a teacher catches us.”

Fina quickly grabs her backpack out of her locker. She only puts a few notebooks in it and Fred spots The Book inside as well. 

“Hey, why do you have The Book?” He asks, “I thought Joe hid it away somewhere.”

“He brought it back out once he started taking lessons from his uncle again. But last night he and Anna were fighting over it and almost warped themselves to the Sahara so I took it for safe keeping,” Fina sighs in exasperation, blowing up her bangs, “I swear I’m like the referee at their house.”

“That’s why I ignore them when they start at it. Now hurry up or we’ll get caught and get detention for sure.”

Fina closes her locker and hefts her backpack on her shoulders. Fred grabs what he needs from his and he leads her to the secret ditch door a senior on the football team once showed him. The ditch door is an emergency exit in the small off hallway near the woodshop room. Most of the emergency exits sounded an alarm if you opened it, but if you stood on tiptoe you could loosen a certain wire that would disable it. Once Fred has the alarm disabled, they go up and over the chain link fence and onto the sidewalk. He manages to convince her to hang out at his place since Joe’s dad was home for once and he probably wouldn’t be okay with her ditching school. Both of Fred’s parents were at work all day. 

“Here we are,” Fred walks through the door and lets her in after him, “Just drop your bag anywhere. I was going to order some Chinese food, but if you want to whip us up something, like a batch of your awesome cookies...”

Fina half shrugs, “I’ll see what I can do.”

She heads into the kitchen while he tosses his backpack on the floor and heads into the living room for some tv. The only downside of skipping class though is that there’s not much on this time of day. News, news, kid’s show, soap opera. He ends up settling on an episode of Hell’s Kitchen since it was mildly entertaining. He jumps when the couch suddenly sinks in as Fina sits next to him. She doesn’t seem inclined to talk to him though so he talks first to prevent the inevitable awkward silence. 

“You ever watch Hell’s Kitchen?” 

“I don’t watch t.v.” 

“Probably because you’re too busy reading trashy romance nov-ow!”

Fina hits him with a pillow and sinks further back on the couch, arms crossed and pouting. Fred just laughs and goes back to watching the show. Come to think of it, he’s never really hung out with Fina before. Even when he hangs out with Joe, Fina just trails behind, not really speaking unless someone talks to her first. But as they watch Hell’s Kitchen, Fina’s arms uncross and she starts leaning forward a little. 

“That rice isn’t cooking,” she says suddenly, “The risotto is going to be raw.”

“What are you talking about? It’s on the stove.”

“It’s not cooking.” 

_“Where’s the risotto? Speed up!” Chef Ramsey yells impatiently. He puts his hand over the stove and gets even madder. “The stove isn’t on. How do you think you’re going to cook risotto on a f**** cold stove!_ _?_ _”_

“Told you so.”

They keep watching the show until the timer in the kitchen goes off and Fina announces that the food is ready. Fred follows her into the kitchen, stomach rumbling, but stops short when he sees how his kitchen looks. Multiple mixing bowls and cooking utensils fill the soapy sink. The countertop is dusted with flour and splattered with remains of food and some kind of sauce. He’s made messes in the kitchen before, but wow. 

“My mom is going to kill me if she sees this,” he groans. 

“I’ll clean it up. If you hadn’t distracted me with that show, I would have gotten it done by now,” Fina says easily and opens the oven, “get a plate.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

He gets a plate and turns just in time to see Fina taking out the muffin pan out of the oven with her bare hands.

“What are you doing!?” Fred yells, “Are you crazy!? Can’t you tell that’s hot?”

“Very hot,” Fina sets the pan down and picks up a knife, “Plate please.”

Fred shakes his head is complete disbelief and hands it to her. She pops out what looks like mini pies onto it and hands it back. As he takes the plate from her, he notices that the burns on her palms are dark red, but already fading. 

“You don’t feel that?” 

“Of course, I do. But the pain passes. It always does.”

“...man, you are one stone cold, weird chick.”

Fina gives him a mildly annoyed look and gestures to the plate, “Eat your food.”

Fred can only shake his head and picks up a pie to take a bite. The buttery, flaky crust breaks and immediately his mouth is filled with hot, spicy chicken, savory vegetables, and creamy sauce. It’s a chicken pot pie, but better than he’s ever had before. 

“Ohm mmy gmmsh!” He exclaims with his mouth full. He eats the rest of it in less than two bites. “Fina I thought you were just going to make some cookies, not... these!”

“I’m sorry, I hope you don’t mind,” Fina toys with her braid, “Joe’s mom... kind of limited my access to her kitchen.”

“Well, feel free to come over here and cook for me anytime!” Fred grabs another mini pot pie and shoves it into his mouth, “Mmm, I’ll even give you a key.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

She starts to clean up but Fred waves her over, “Leave that for later. Come eat with me.”

“I should really clean up-”

“I can handle it. Come here.”

Fina hesitates, looking at the dirty kitchen, but then she sits down at the table with him and takes a pie. They sit together for a while eating, talking a little, complaining about school mostly. Fred almost completely loses track of time when the doorbell rings. 

“Oh, crap is it three already?” He checks the time, “I forgot Sam was coming over to help me with homework.”

“Three o’clock?” Fina jumps up like she’s been stung, “Oh gosh, I’m supposed to be on my way to Mr. Magnificent’s house for Joe’s magic lessons. Ugh, and I’m a mess from all the cooking and the kitchen is still-”

The doorbell rings more impatiently. Fred rolls his eyes and gets up from the table. 

“Sam will have an aneurysm if I don’t answer. Bathroom is down the hall, second door on the left.” 

Fina hurries off to the bathroom while Fred goes to answer the door. Sam stands on the other side looking more irked than usual. 

“Geez, I answered the door as fast as I could. What’s wrong with you?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Sam grumbles, walking in. His shoes make a weird squelching sound as he walks. 

“What’s with the shoes?”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it, okay?” Sam pinches the bridge of his nose, “Look, I just had a really bad day. Are you ready to go over your homework?”

“Sure, let’s work in the kitchen.”

Sam squelches his way into the kitchen and stops short when he sees the mess, wearing the same expression Fred wore earlier. 

“What happened in here? Fred, your mom is going to kill you.”

“It’s no big deal. Fina was just cooking a snack and made a little mess. I’ll have it cleaned up in no time.”

Sam gives him a look that is completely disbelieving, “Okay two things- one, since when did you and Fina start hanging out? She barely tolerates you. And two- you clean? I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Okay, no one can resist Fred the Freak’s charm, and two- I'll show you.”

Fred spots Fina’s backpack tucked away in the corner and goes into it. As soon as he pulls out The Book, Sam yelps and jumps back few feet. 

“F-Fred, what are you doing with that?” He squeaks, “Don’t you remember how volatile that thing is?”

Fred scoffs, “Relax, I still remember the time we warped to Russia with Samantha. All I have to do is remember what she did and we’ll get this kitchen cleaned in no time.” 

“Put. That. Down.” 

A chill runs down Fred's spine as he turns to see Fina standing in the doorway. Her eyes are icy and she looks ready to kill him. Sam quickly moves away from her and inches next to Fred. 

“You better do what she says,” He says under his breath. 

“Fina, quit it with the icy stare okay?” Fred laughs, “You’re scaring poor Sam here.”

“Fred-”

“Will you both relax. I’ve done this before. Here, watch.”

But he must not remember as well as he thought, because as soon as Fred starts flipping pages, curls of green and strangely cold mist begin to pour out of The Book. Sam yelps in fear and tries to run away, but his shoes make another wet, squelching noise and he slips and falls into Fred, making them both fall over. They fall through the mist and literally through time and space.  


	2. Chapter 2

The Titanic.  _The_ R.M.S Titanic. Sam can’t believe it. Out of all the places they’ve ever warped to, out of all the places they could have warped to, he can’t believe that he ended up here of all places. But could he really be surprised with the kind of day he had been having?

* * *

Warm weather was around the corner at sixty-degrees, but there was still a chill in the air and the ground was muddy so gym was held inside. Which meant Dodge Ball Day. As if Sam needed another reason to hate physical education class. What was so educational about forcing students into demeaning physical labor anyway? 

The gym echoes with the squeak of shoes and the hallow impact of hard rubber balls. Sam tries to avoid the flying balls of death as much as he can, but he’s never been the most coordinated person ever. And it doesn't help that his social status, or lack thereof, makes him a target. P.E is the only bleak spot in his eight-hour haven of the school day. What makes it worse was that he doesn't even share the class with Fred or Joe. 

“Move it, nerd!” One of his own teammates elbows him out the way and scoops up a ball that bounces near Sam. The teammate throws the ball and fixes Sam with a dirty look, “Look, either play the game or get off the court.”

The teammate moves on before Sam can reply. It’s not like he isn’t trying. It’s just a natural reflex that if something comes flying at you, you either move or in his case flinch out of the way. He yelps and jumps back as another ball swishes by his face. That’s another thing. For some reason, his glasses seem to be a target all on their own. It's hard to focus on dodging and throwing balls when you have to make sure that your five-hundred-dollar glasses don't get broken. And it isn’t like he could take them off either. He’d be completely blind without them. 

“Move nerd!”

Sam screams as three balls hit him at once- twice in the torso and once in the face. He hits the polished wooden floor hard, completely winding him. He lays there for a moment, dazed and sore until the p.e. teacher impatiently yells at him to get off the floor. Sam coughs, gingerly touching his mouth to see if it's bleeding, and limps to the sidelines where the other losers are sitting. 

The end of the bell can’t come fast enough. When the whistle does finally blow, Sam heads into the locker room with the rest of the guys. He’s one of the first to get in the showers. He wasn’t that sweaty, but the sooner he showers and changes, the sooner he can get out of there and head to the library. When he's fast, there's usually at least ten minutes for him to head to the library before his next class. 

But Sam should have known something was up when he starts getting dressed and notices a couple of guys quietly snickering nearby. He just chalks it up to the usual locker room talk though and reaches for his shoes.

“Ah!” Sam recoils as his socked foot slides into something wet and disgusting at the toe of his shoe.

The guys nearby cheer and give each other high fives. One of them has their phone out, taking a video no doubt. 

“He totally did it!” 

“What a loser!”

“Upload that, man!”

Bright red, gooey ketchup now stains Sam’s sock as he carefully slides his foot back out and a quick peek in his other shoe tells him he narrowly avoided two ketchup covered feet. Sam sighs, picks up his shoes and limps back over to the showers. It was no use telling a teacher. He learned in third grade that telling only makes them angrier. 

The ketchup takes a while to rinse out of his shoes and his sock is completely ruined. By the time Sam finishes the bell has already rung and everyone is already heading out. Sam has to put on soaking wet shoes, quickly grab his stuff, and rush out to make it to his locker in time. The hot water is already cooling making his feet cold and uncomfortable. He’s all too aware of the looks he’s getting and the mini puddles he’s leaving behind as he walks. 

“Two more hours,” He sighs out loud, “Just two more hours and I can go home. Oh wait, I have to stop by Fred’s first, but at least I can take my shoes off there.”

As soon as Sam opens his locker though, he stops short. On top of his books is a folded piece of paper. He hesitates as he stares at it. A note in his locker? Who would leave a note in his locker? Did they even mean for it to go to his locker or was it a mistake? But when he picks it up, he sees his name clearly written on the front in very feminine handwriting. Sam bites his lip before carefully unfolding it. 

_Dear Sam,_ it reads,  _I’ve noticed you for a long time but I’ve been too shy to talk to you. But I wanted to tell you that I’ve always admired how smart you are and how cute you are ..._

Sam immediately feels his face flame. A girl noticed him? Since when did girls notice him? 

_… and how your hair always looks like you’ve just been electrocuted and how you go on about random facts no one cares about and how your glasses make your eyes look like they can see through the phone book-_

Sam immediately crumples the note without bothering to read the rest. He hears a chorus of high pitch laughter behind his back making his face flame even more. He doesn’t even have to turn around to know who’s laughing because does it really matter? Sam just tosses the note to the floor, changes out his books, and heads off to class. Just two more hours, some homework at Fred’s house, and this nightmare of a day will be done with. 

* * *

Sam should have canceled. He should have called Fred, tell him he had a horrible day, and cancel coming over for homework. Then he could have been at home with his feet up, instead of out in the freezing air, in freezing cold shoes and probably developing frostbite. 

“I can’t believe it," Sam groans, “Joe’s actually taking magic seriously again, and  _you_ end up warping us to one of the deadliest maritime disasters in history.”

“Do you mind if we panic inside?” Fred starts jumping up and down, “I’m freezing.”

“You’re freezing?” Sam mutters sarcastically before shaking his head, “Yeah, we should head inside. Might as well get warm before we die.”

They go through the door and end up inside a really fancy hallway. Dark polished wood paneling, lush red carpets, and paintings hang on the wall. But even better, the air is warm and toasty. Sam doesn’t even mind the painful tingle in his toes as his feet finally start warming up. 

Fred gives a low whistle, “Wow, this place is swanky. We must be in first class.” 

“Actually, the Titanic was built to be the most luxurious ocean liner of its time,” Sam adds, “At the time, it cost over 1.5 million British pounds to build, which is over $140 million in today’s time. Adjusting for inflation of course.”

Fred gives another low whistle, “Why can’t we warp to cool places like this more often?”

“Fred. The ship sinks remember?”

“Yeah, I meant before that though.”

Sam sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, “Let’s just try to find The Book so we can get out of here. Before we die.” 

As they keep walking, the hallway gets nicer and nicer. It’s actually strange, aside from the low steady hum of the engines, Sam can barely tell that they’re on a ship. There are no rocking or swaying motions that usually make him seasick. As they round a corner, the hallway opens up to a balcony leading down to a grand staircase. People dressed in expensive looking tuxedos and ballgowns walk around. Faint orchestra music drifts up from below. 

“Hey, you two boys there,” A stern looking man in a dark uniform and a hat walks up to them, “This deck is reserved for first class passengers only.”

“Which we totally are,” Fred lies quickly, “I only travel in first class.” 

Sam cringes as the man gives them a disbelieving look and eyes them critically. It’s way too obvious Fred is lying. Everyone around them is wearing tuxes and ballgowns and jewelry. He and Fred are wearing jeans and t-shirts and sneakers. 

“Right, off you go gents,” The man grabs them by the elbow and shoves them to a door that leads outside. 

“Now I want you two to go back, down those stairs, and to your proper class,” The man’s jaw is clenched more in cold than in anger and he quickly steps back into the warm ship and firmly closes the door.

“Great! Just great!” Sam cries, already shivering again. The frigid air closes around him like a fist, making him breathless and irritable. He starts walking, if only not to freeze to the spot.  “If I don’t die of hypothermia in the water, I’ll die of pneumonia right here on deck!”

“Wow. You are really freaking out a lot today.”

“Because we are going to die!”

“Why do you keep saying that? We’ve warped to more dangerous places before.” 

Sam groans in mounting frustration. This is what he used to hate about warping. No one but him seemed to understand the danger of warping to some random time period with no knowledge about what they’re getting into. 

“This is different from other times, Fred,” He tries to keep his voice calm and speak slowly so he’ll understand the gravity of their situation, “Every other time we warped, we accidentally run into trouble, or accidentally make the wrong person angry. But we’ve always had a chance not to. A chance to choose the safe route and stay put, or leave, or whatever. But on the Titanic, there’s nowhere to go. We’re in the middle of the freezing Atlantic. The  _entire_ ship will sink in less than three hours after it hits the iceberg. Almost two-thirds of the people on board die and we will be one of them if we don’t get out of here!”

“That’s terrible and all, but we could get in a lifeboat when it does start sinking. They did women and children first right?”

“In 1912, we are considered closer to adults than children. They probably wouldn’t let us on.”

“Well...” Fred eyes one of the lifeboats tied and covered on the deck, “What if we take a lifeboat now? As big as this place is, I doubt anyone will notice.” 

Sam bites his lip and looks around. There are a few people out on deck, wearing coats over their fancy clothes, but no one seems to be paying them any attention. But then he quickly shakes his head. 

“No, we can’t,” He sighs, “One of the reasons the Titanic was considered such a great tragedy, was because a lot of it could have been preventable. If there had been enough lifeboats, then a lot more people would have survived. It would be unethical for us to take one for ourselves.”

He doesn’t say so out loud, but there’s another reason too. Even knowing what he knows, Sam honestly can’t help but feel safer on this solid, steel ship than on a wooden rowboat in the middle of the ocean. The water was just so black and empty. They could drift for days and die of starvation or hypothermia before they even saw land. 

“Yeah, I guess we can’t leave The Book at the bottom of the ocean either,” Fred mumbles, “Joe would kill us.”

“Fina is the one I’m more worried about,” Sam shudders. 

“Hey, what are you two boys doing out here?”

They both jump and turn around guiltily, ready to bolt, but this time it’s a woman in a long fur coat casually strolling toward them, smiling. It takes him a minute, but Sam recognizes her from photos in one of his history books.

“You’re Mol- I mean Margaret Brown!” Sam says excitedly. 

“The one and only, but my friends call me Maggie,” Mrs. Brown chuckles good-naturedly, “But what in the world are you two boys doing out here without any coats on? You ain’t stowaways, are you?”

Sam and Fred share a brief look of panic before Mrs. Brown cracks up laughing. 

“If you did, I don’t blame you. They charge an arm and a leg for these tickets.”

“Yeah, you’d almost think it wasn’t worth it,” Fred mumbles.

“We, um, kind of ended up here by accident,” Sam ventures as close to the truth as he can, “Trust me, we probably wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

“Well, if you need a place to stay out of this cold, you can book it with me. Lord knows my room is big enough.”

“Yes. Thank you. We would like that,” Sam hastily agrees. It’s perfect. Margaret "Unsinkable Molly" Brown is the most well-known survivor of the Titanic. Sticking with her, they have a much better chance at surviving too. 

Margaret Brown chats with them as she leads them below deck to through the first-class passenger rooms. She confesses to them that she usually hated traveling alone, but while she was overseas with her daughter, her grandson got sick back in America. Her daughter decided to stay in Europe at the last minute, but she bought the first ticket back to the States. She also wasn’t exaggerating about her room. It's huge. A living room, complete with a couch, separate from the bedroom, and a wide window giving a view of the ocean. 

“You two boys can sleep on the couch,” Mrs. Brown says generously, “it’s comfortable than most beds I’ve slept on, let me tell you what, haha. Breakfast is bright and early. Goodnight!”

She briskly strides into her room and closes the door, leaving Fred and Sam in the plush setting alone. 

“I call the couch!” Fred immediately flops down and throws Sam a pillow. “You can have the floor.”

“Oh, great. How generous of you.”

“Hey, I threw you a pillow.”

Sam rolls his eyes and walks over the window to look out. The ocean doesn’t look as daunting from a first-class room. Stars glitter in the sky meeting the ocean at the horizon. Faint ripples can almost be seen on the surface on the water. 

“Hey Sam, I was thinking about what you said earlier. About how the Titanic was a preventable tragedy.”

“Yeah?”

“Well... what if we prevented it?”

Sam turns around in surprise, “Prevent the Titanic from sinking?”

“Yeah,” Fred shrugs, “You know, Joe helped save those kids in England that disappeared. Why don’t we stop the Titanic from sinking? You said a lot of it was preventable. And, we wouldn’t be in such a rush to find The Book. We could actually enjoy ourselves. And you could use a vacation.”

Sam opens his mouth to argue but then closes it again. Prevent the Titanic from sinking? Could they really do that? This wasn’t like other warps where they were in the middle of a war or around dangerous people. There was inherently no danger on the Titanic aside from it needlessly sinking. Going slower, keeping a better lookout for icebergs, even altering course by a few degrees could change everything. 

“You know, you might be right,” Sam nods slowly, thinking it over, “There really was no reason for the Titanic to sink. Not only could we save thousands of people, but we wouldn’t have to worry about The Book ending up at the bottom of the ocean. Or us.”

“Aaand, we get to relax on a first-class cruise ship!” Fred stresses, “Come on man, you showed up on my doorstep looking like something the cat dragged in.”

Sam crosses his arms defensively, “I told you, I had a really bad today. Can we just leave it at that?”

“Hey,” Fred’s tone becomes slightly more serious as he leans up on one elbow and looks at him, “Are those guys messing with you again? Because I told them to lay off.”

Sam gives in with a sigh and sits down with his back against the couch. He tugs off his shoes, revealing his still damp and slightly pink socks. 

“What is that?” Fred sits up to take a closer look, “That’s not blood is it?”

“Ketchup,” Sam grumbles, peeling off his socks too. It feels good to finally take them off and feel the warm carpet instead. “In both of my shoes. Had to walk around with wet feet for the rest of the day and because of the time we spent outside in the freezing air, I’ll probably catch a cold too.”

“Pfft. Is that all? Ketchup in your shoes? That’s nothing,” Fred flops back onto the couch, “Eighth-grade gym, the one and only time I kept my hat in my locker, some guys from the football team broke in and put a bunch of mayo in my hat. I put it on and everything before I even noticed. But guys just do stupid pranks like that. You laugh it off and it’s no big deal.”

“No big deal to you maybe,” Sam grumbles.

“Well if you hung out with them more it wouldn’t be. Trust me, I had the same talk with Fina.” 

“Fina’s getting bullied too?”

“Just teased. Which girls do all the time. I swear you guys are just making a bigger deal out of this stuff than it needs to be.” 

Sam rolls his eyes and lays on the pillow Fred so helpfully tossed him, “It must be nice being in your world, Fred.”

“Amazing actually. You should try it sometime.”

* * *

* * *

* * *

The next morning, they’re woken up bright and early by Mrs. Brown and given coats to wear over their clothes so they blend in better at breakfast with her friends. She explains that they’re actually for her son who was a few years older than them, which explains why it’s more than a little baggy on them, but Fred doesn’t mind. It’s actually kind of cool to be treated like first-class. A fancy room (fancy living room at least), fancy clothes, and now a fancy breakfast? Fred could get used to these kinds of warps. And if his plan works, and he and Sam were able to prevent the Titanic from sinking, then he could have a full, first-class cruise experience.

“So how do we do this?” He whispers to Sam as they follow Mrs. Brown to the dining room, “How do we stop the Titanic from sinking?”

“It was your idea. You don’t have a plan?”

“You’re the smart one who knows all about this stuff. Why do you think me and Joe keep you around?”

Sam rolls his eyes but smiles a little, “Lucky for you, I have been thinking about this all night. One of the reasons why no one was prepared was because no one thought the Titanic could sink. It’s too late to get more lifeboats, but I think if I can convince someone, like the captain, that the Titanic isn’t as stable as they thought, then maybe they’ll be more cautious during the sailing.”

“Sounds like a plan to me. How do we get to the captain?”

“Well, we’re already in first class. We can use that to our advantage. Sometimes captains eat with first class passengers, right? Um, Mrs. Brown?” Sam speaks up to address her, “Do you think we’ll be able to meet Captain Smith?”

“Ooh, the captain eh? You two are pretty ambitious for stowaways,” Mrs. Brown chuckles, “I hear he’s a swell guy. I met him once or twice to say hello, but I’ve never had a meal with him or shot the breeze with him. But I have been rubbing elbows with some of the elite. You never know.”

They reach the dining room and a steward opens the door for them with a smile. Fred can't tell if it's the same guy who tried to kick them out of first class or not. He and Sam walk in behind Mrs. Brown and stop dead in their tracks, staring in awe. The dining hall was massive with white painted, wood paneling and red and yellow patterned tiles. Large windows with white and gold panels let in soft, warm morning light. 

“Beautiful ain’t it?” Mrs. Brown smiles at their awestruck faces, “My husband and I have been doing good for years now and I still have to get used to sights like these. Come on, we’ll sit over here.”

She leads them to a table where a few other well-dressed people are seated and drinking orange juice out of fancy glasses. They’re laughing right up until Mrs. Brown appears at their table and then they get quiet, exchanging slightly annoyed looks for a moment before putting on polite smiles. 

“Well, aren’t we a happy, good-looking bunch this morning?” Mrs. Brown says sitting into a chair a waiter pulls out for her. The waiter does the same for Fred and Sam. 

“Margaret,” One of the women give her a tight-lipped smile, “Brisk as usual. Surprisingly, for all of us, you aren’t the last to join for once. But I see you bought... friends.”

“Met these two young gentlemen on the promenade deck and they offered to escort me to breakfast. Everyone, this is Fred and Sam, Fred and Sam, this is the Countess of Rothes and her cousin Gladys, Mr. Charles Hays, and Mr. Bruce Ismay," Mrs. Brown says.

As she introduces the people sitting around the table, they barely glance at Fred and Sam, more interested in their menus or exchanging looks than them. Fred glances at the menu in front of him and is a lot less interested in the conversation too. Baked apples, oatmeal, grilled ham, grilled sausage, and eggs are only a handful of breakfast foods that he even recognizes. What even were Vienna and Graham Rolls?

“Are we supposed to eat all of this?” He whispers to Sam, “I mean, I can eat a lot, but there’s like a steak on here and everything.”

“I think eating too much is the last thing we should be concerned about Fred,” Sam whispers tightly and nods towards one of the men who has a bushy mustache, “That’s  _the_ J. Bruce Ismay, the director of the White Star Line. He practically owns the Titanic. If we can convince him the ship will sink, then... we....”

Sam trails off and his face goes white as he starts staring at something with wide, terrified eyes. Fred frowns and cranes his head, trying to follow Sam’s gaze and see what exactly has him so freaked out all of a sudden. A waiter is leading a couple toward their table, but they look pretty ordinary to him. The guy seems kind of old for the girl who looks about their age, but that’s it. She’s smiling pretty hard at the guy though, so she must be into him.

“Sam, Earth to Sam,” Fred whispers harshly and jostles him hard, trying to break him out of this weird trance.

Sam finally jolts, knocking over his water glass. As another waiter rushes over to mop up the spill, he leans over to Fred.

“It’s her!” Sam whispers frantically, still staring at the girl, “That girl from England who tried to kill us!”

“What? No way, that’s not...” Fred takes a second look at the couple as they sit down and he feels his words die in his throat.

 It is her. She’s wearing a slim, short-sleeved dress and fancy jewelry like the other women, and her hair is now curly and pinned up under a fancy hat, but taking another look at her, it’s definitely the same girl. San-Li. And as soon as Fred recognizes her, a jolt of anger goes through him.

“I’m going to say something,” He mutters, half standing up.  

“Fred wait, don’t,” Sam hisses and pulls him down again. “Who knows what she’ll do to us if we expose her? We have to play this carefully.”

"Fine,” Fred grumbles and settles down again. He can’t resist sending her a heated glare though, just to let her know that he’s on to her. 

As everyone at the table greets the pair more a lot warmly, her eyes land on him and her smile cools a few degrees. Recognition briefly flashes in her eyes before she glances away again.  

“Ah, Guggenheim,” Ismay shakes the older guy’s hand, “I didn’t know if you were going to make it. Good to see you, sir.”

“I couldn’t get over the view from outside,” The guy, Guggenheim chuckles, “Even the cold couldn’t take me away.” 

“But it seems something else did,” One of the ladies, the Countess, smirk, “Who is your... companion?”

“Ah, this lovely creature,” Guggenheim smiles at San-Li, “is Selene Burren. I just met her today.”

“What happened to your other friend, that French singer?” Mrs. Brown asks. 

“She, um, was feeling ill and was unable to join us,” San-Li or Selene answers sweetly, in a light British accent, “Poor dear, it must have been something she ate.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Sam mutters to Fred. 

She must have heard him though because she gives him a sharp look and Sam shrinks back against his seat with a small eep. 

The conversation moves forward while waiters serve them breakfast. Most of the talk is of course money and business. Fred and Sam are pretty much ignored which Fred doesn’t mind because it’s not like he has anything to contribute. These people spend more on their cars and horses than his parents spend on the mortgage. Maybe he should ask Sam to help him get into investing. And look into rich parents to adopt him and put him in their will. 

“The best investment to be made though is in magnificent ships like this,” Ismay was saying, “Luxurious, beautiful, and unsinkable. The Titanic will make money for years to come.”

The men begin to nod in agreement, but Sam speaks up quickly. 

“Um, I don’t want to be rude, but don’t you think unsinkable is a little bit of an... exaggeration?” He says carefully, “I mean, what would happen if it, say, hits an ice-”

“I for one absolutely agree with you, Mr. Ismay,” San-Li quickly interrupts, “The Titanic is both magnificent and infallible. But I have to say my favorite investments are in jewels. Like these.” She gestures to her ears which are loaded with glossy pearls. 

“My, those are gorgeous,” The Countess’s cousin Gladys gasps, “Wherever did you get them?”

“They were a gift from dear Benjamin,” San-Li shots him a coy smile, “To match the diamond and pearl bracelet sweet Leontine lent me.”

“Speaking of ice, has anyone seen any icebergs lately?” Fred tries next, “I hear they can come out of nowhere.”

“What the devil does icebergs have to do with anything?” Hayes barks in confusion. 

“Perhaps the two dears had too much champagne to drink,” San-Li gives them a sharp look, “Maybe they should go to their rooms and lie down.”

“Nonsense, men can hold their liquor much better than you women,” Ismay and the other men laugh. 

“Well, I wouldn’t say that,” Mrs. Brown says, “Back in my younger days, I could put away pretty heavy brew and still get up at dawn the next day.” She laughs but no one really laughs with her except San-Li. 

“So, Mr. Ismay,” Fred breaks the awkward pause, “You think that maybe you can introduce us to the captain? I hear he’s a super cool guy.”

“As if someone as busy as Captain Smith would have any time for you,” San-Li giggles, “by the way, the service here is lovely.”

“I agree, the staff seems well trained,” Sam counters, “But I wonder how good they are at performing lifeboat drills.”

“Oh, I doubt we’ll have to go through one of those dreadful things,” the Countess dismisses with a wave, “There’s really no need.”

“Still, maybe to be safe...”

“Oh my!” San-Li suddenly exclaims as her water glass falls over, “How clumsy of me! I do apologize.”

Everyone becomes distracted telling her it’s okay and the waiter replacing her glass.

“What is her deal?” Fred whispers to Sam, “Is it just me or is she purposely trying to stop us from warning people about the ship sinking?”

Sam shakes his head helplessly. As breakfast winds down, Mr. Ismay and the other men begin to stand up, announcing that the men were going to retire into the smoking room while the women finished breakfast by themselves. 

“That’s it!” Sam whispers to Fred, “Let’s go to the smoking room with the men! Women aren’t allowed and maybe we can find someone who will listen to us.”

Fred nods and they quickly get up to follow the men out. He glances back and sees San-Li watching them with calculating, slightly annoyed eyes. He can’t help but smirk, silently proud that they had outflanked her. 

Turns out the smoking room wasn’t as smoky as the name implies. Actually, it was kind of nice with dark wood pillars, stained glass windows, and a ton of couches and chairs to lounge in. There is even a roaring fireplace at one end, making the room really toasty. And even with that and men smoking cigars, the air is surprisingly easy to breathe. 

“Fred, look!” Sam grabs his arm and points to a guy standing by the fireplace, “that’s Thomas Andrews! The chief designer of the ship! If I can convince him that the Titanic has flaws. He’ll definitely talk to the captain and slow this ship down!”

“Then what are we standing around here for? Let’s go-”

Sam rushes off with an excited smile on his face before Fred can even finish his sentence. He rolls his eyes a little. Leave it to Sam to only not freak out when he’s too busy geeking out. He catches up to him, just as he and Andrews fully emerge in engineering talk. 

“I have to say, I find it really interesting that you decided to use both sea water and fresh water in the double bottom, water ballast tanks,” Sam was saying, “Like you did with the Olympic.”

“To maintain the buoyancy against the sheer magnitude and weight of the ship, yes,” Thomas Andrews nods with a surprised smile, “You seem familiar with my work.”

“I used to be really into naval engineering for a while,” Sam shrugs modestly, “I also know that because of its sheer length you used longitudinal stiffening instead of transverse stiffening for the ship’s hull.”

“Yes, I find that it’s much more secure,” Andrews nods again, “I also found that running continuous center girders through the length of the ship supports the entire bottom structure, the keel plate, and the garboard strake.”

“As opposed to transversally framed ships where intercostal side grinders run longitudinally and are continuous and the plate floors are cut and welded on both sides of the girder.”

"I have to say, I’m quite impressed Samuel. It’s not every day that I meet such an intelligent young man,” Andrews laughs and claps him on the shoulder, “I have a little meeting to get to on deck, but would you care to join me? My companion also has extensive knowledge of my work. I believe we’ll have quite the lively conversation.”

“Great! We’d love to join you!” Sam nods enthusiastically and gives Fred a quick thumbs up.

“That was fast,” Fred whispers to him as they follow Mr. Andrews out of the smoking room, “Who knew your geeking skills could really come in handy?”

“I’ll take that as a compliment. Let’s just hope that Mr. Andrews friend also happens to be the captain.” 

They step outside and the cold air meets them, though thankfully it’s not as cold as before. The deck still doesn’t have that many people walking around. Mr. Andrews looks around for a minute before lifting a hand to someone lounging in one of the deck chairs with their back to them. 

“Ah, there you are,” Mr. Andrews calls out, “I’m sorry I’m late, but I met another young enthusiast.” 

Fred and Sam freeze in their tracks as the figure stands and turns around. San-Li's warm smile for Mr. Andrews immediately turns icy when she sees the two of them standing behind him. 

“What are you, following us?” Fred bursts out angrily before he can stop himself. 

Mr. Andrews looks between the three of them in confusion, “Do you three know each other?”

“We’ve met,” Sam and San-Li answer at the same time. Sam’s voice is tight and scared while San-Li's is tightly controlled and cold. 

Mr. Andrews clears his throat awkwardly, “I, um, assume you three aren’t quite acquaintances.” 

“Never mind any... unpleasantness, Thomas,” San-Li smiles up at Mr. Andrews again, “We shouldn’t let it ruin our time together, however brief. I know you’re meeting with the captain soon to go over your reports.”

“Ah, yes, Captain Smith doesn’t like to be kept waiting,” Mr. Andrews offers her his elbow and she tucks her hand in the crook of his arm. He then looks over his shoulder at Fred and Sam, “My invitation to join us still stands, Samuel.”

Sam doesn’t look too thrilled and he gives Fred a questioning look. Fred shrugs, but nods. It’s not like he can find anyone to impress with nerd knowledge. The worse they can do is lose this chance just because a psycho is playing nice with Mr. Andrews. Sam sighs nervously and hurries to catch up to the two of them, being careful to keep Mr. Andrews between him and San-Li. Fred trails behind keeping an eye on her just in case she tries anything. He can’t get the image of her punching out Joe or holding a sword to Jodie’s neck. It wouldn't surprise him if she tried to push one of them overboard. 

“So, Mr. Andrews, your ship designs are incredible and all, but may I point out a few potential issues?” Sam starts, “Just from what I read about ship design in general.”

Mr. Andrews looks surprised, but nods eagerly, “Well, this is a bit unorthodox, but I’ll be happy to hear your analysis. That’s why I’m on board myself. To take notes and make improvements.”

“Well, I, um, read that the hull was structured with steel plating and iron rivets,” Sam says, “Aren’t you worried about brittle structural failure and deformation?”

“I would hardly call over three million rivets and two thousand hull plates brittle,” San-Li quickly scoffs, “Harland and Wolff is the foremost company that uses hydraulic machines that helped put this magnificent ship together. I would hardly call that a brittle structure.”

“Uh, it would be in cold temperature waters, twenty-three-knot speed, and not to mention the high levels of sulfur in the hull’s steel,” Sam counters with an annoyed frown. 

“Oh please, twenty-five-knots is standard speed for passenger ships.”

“Not for ships with a mass of over forty-six  _thousand_ tons.”

“Which is what the two four-cylinder, triple expansion, inverted reciprocating steam engines, and one low-pressure Parsons turbine engines are for,” San-Li says tightly, “The sheer power of this ship more than compensates for its size.”

Fred is completely lost at the back and forth between them, but Mr. Andrews chuckles in amusement. 

“I see you two are both well knowledged in ship architecture,” He says and turns to Sam, “Samuel, you are correct in your concerns about the brittle nature of steel and iron at these temperatures and speed, but I’ve made some improvements per my notes from the Olympic.”

“Sixteen major watertight compartments in the hull designed to automatically seal in case of any damage,” San-Li throws Mr. Andrews a flattering smile, “Engineered with amazing turn-of-the-century design and technology. If something were to happen, the Titanic could probably still stay afloat for days.”

“Not if the damage to the hull lets in too much water,” Sam corrects swiftly, shooting San-Li a hard look, “then the ship could tilt too much starboard and could destabilize the entire ship like a lever with an uneven fulcrum. By the way, a fulcrum is-”

“I’m familiar with the construction of simple machines,” San-Li practically growls, her smile turning into a grimace. 

“Peace you two,” Mr. Andrews laughs and turns to Sam, “You aren’t wrong in your cautions, but please, rest easy, lad. While we are proceeding at speeds a little faster than I’m comfortable with, I believe in the integrity of this ship. But your observations are astute and interesting. I’ll be sure to add them to my notations.” 

Mr. Andrews pauses to pull out a pocket watch and glances at the time, “And as informative and, haha, entertaining as this conversation has been, I’m afraid my time has grown short and I must leave you.”

“Do you really have to leave?” San-Li pleads, looking up at him with a much softer expression, “You could just... stay.”

“I’m afraid I have to leave now, but I’m sure we’ll see each other again. I always enjoy our little talks,” He takes her hand from the crook of his arm and lightly kisses her knuckles. He then turns to Sam, “As for you Samuel, if you’re ever Belfast, perhaps you might consider interning at Harland and Wolff. We could use a mind like yours.”

“R-really?” Sam grins in surprise, “Y-yeah that sounds great!”

Mr. Andrews gives Fred a brief, polite nod and leaves the three of them alone on deck. San-Li stares after him for a minute, until he disappears inside the ship. As soon as he’s gone though, she turns to Sam with a scowl. 

“What in the hell do you think you’re doing!?” She snaps. 

“I could ask you the same thing,” Sam snaps back, much to Fred’s surprise. He expected him to cower like he usually does, but Sam’s glaring right back at her. “You have to know that the ship is going to sink! Why are you pretending like it isn’t?”

“Because time travel rule number one, kid-” She snarls and gets right in his face, “Don't. Change. History.”

“You can’t be serious,” Sam shakes his head in disbelief and takes a step back, “If there is a chance to stop one of the biggest preventable disasters in history-”

“Then you could cause an even bigger disaster in the future,” San-Li sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose, “You two are even bigger warp amateurs than your idiot leader.”

“Hey, Joe’s not an idiot!” Fred jumps in angrily, “And what do you mean, we can cause a bigger disaster in the future?”

“You losers don’t know the first thing about how history works do you?”

“Excuse me?” Sam’s voice goes up an octave, “I think I know more about history than you do.”

“Then do you know what happened after the Titanic sank?” San-Li gives him with an impatient look, “The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea made it a law that all ships had to have enough lifeboats for everyone on board. Before, the minimum was seventy-five percent of passengers on board. Changes to ship designs were made for better safety and reliability. The Radio Act of 1912 required all sea vessels to have a 24-hour radio system in place. And the International Ice Patrol was developed to alert any sea vessels of any icebergs.”

“Well, um...I....” Sam shakes his head, “Maybe none of that stuff would have been necessary.”

“Or maybe, another ship will end up sinking instead,” San-Li presses, “Say, a ship carrying one of your ancestors, or a ship carrying an important medical breakthrough, or an important future leader or political figure. Point is, we know how history goes after the Titanic sinks. We don’t know what ripples it could cause if it doesn’t.”

Sam opens his mouth, looking like he still wanted to argue, but then something in his expression changes and he looks uncertain. San-Li gives a satisfied nod and shoots both of them an intimidating look. 

“Now do the smart thing, and stop trying to interfere,” She threatens before turning and walking away. Her walk is quick and purposeful and angry. Fred glares after her as she leaves, shaking his head.

“Forget her Sam, we can still-”

“She’s right.” 

“What?” Fred looks at him like he’s crazy, “What are you talking about? She’s a psycho. She’s-”

“Absolutely right,” Sam groans in frustration and grabs at his hair, “Those laws were created, directly or indirectly, because the Titanic sank. And if the ship doesn’t sink, there really is no telling what could happen to history. I was so focused on saving ourselves, that I didn’t even think about it. Why didn’t I think about it?”

“Hey, don’t go beating yourself up, man,” Fred softens his tone and puts a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder. "At least we were trying to do the right thing. Who knows why she’s here? For all we know, she followed us and is trying to find The Book before we do. Remember how Mad Jack used to practically stalk us?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Sam sighs and looks a little better, but not much. “So, what do we do now?”

“What we usually do I guess,” Fred shrugs, “Try to find The Book.” 

“And do it before the ship sinks and takes us and fifteen hundred people with it.”    
   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. This went through some revisions but hopefully, it turned out better for it.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam had read that the Titanic was massive. He knew all the stats about its size, its mass, even the fact that bigger ships have been built since. But reading about it is nothing compared to walking through it trying to find something as inconspicuous as The Book.  

Sam sighs and puts another book back onto the shelf. The second-class library is pretty small, it only has a couple of bookshelves. But there are also writing desks and tables to check too. Any place where a book can be hiding.  

“Can we take a break now?” Fred yawns, slouching in a chair, “this is boring. Why don’t we go back to first class? They have heated swimming pools. Or we can check out that tennis court.”  

“Fred, you seem to be forgetting that we aren’t on vacation here.”  

“You need a vacation,” Fred mumbles.  

Sam ignores him and tries to think of anywhere else they can look. First class, being the biggest, they spent the most time there. Checking out all the public places and asking anyone they came across if they just so happened to see a blue book with silver designs on it. So far, nothing. Same with second class. Sam doesn’t blame Fred for being tired. He’s tired too. But he’s more afraid of still being here when the iceberg hits.  

“I guess we can leave now,” He sighs finally, “The Book clearly isn’t in here.”  

“Alright!” Fred jumps up, “Let’s head back to first class.” 

They step outside and Sam immediately shivers at the drop-in temperature. He didn’t notice before but it had gotten dark, fast. The sun is already sinking on the horizon, making the water glow gold behind them. He squints and looks elsewhere, trying to make out any icebergs in the distance, but doesn’t see any. That doesn’t mean they aren’t out there though.  

“You know, we haven’t any of the first- or second-class rooms,” Fred points out, “Do you think someone could have found The Book and taken it?” 

“We asked, but no one said they’ve seen it.” 

“Yeah but it’s not like we asked everybody. And what if someone picked it up after we asked?” 

Sam pauses, considering this for a moment before nodding, “Yeah, that could happen. Where do we start? Do we just go door to door?” 

“Let’s ask Mrs. Brown to help us. I bet she knows a bunch of people in first-class.” 

“Good idea. Come on, first-class rooms are this way if I remember correctly.” 

He leads them up a flight of stairs and over a low railing to the first door he sees, just to get out of the cold and dark. They walk for a while, but nothing really looks familiar.  

“Are you sure this is the way back to Mrs. Brown’s room?” Fred asks, looking around, “Because all these hallways look alike to me.” 

“Of course, I’m sure,” Sam pauses and looks around, “I mean I’m pretty sure. How many first-class hallways can there be?”  

“Well, I’m getting hungry. Maybe we should aim for the dining room instead?”  

“We can eat when we get home. You know, when there’s no risk of freezing to death at the bottom of the Atlantic.”  

“Fine, fine. But lets at least ask someone for directions or something. I’m pretty sure we’re lost.” 

“Fine. If we see someone, we can ask for directions. But I doubt a random steward will know exactly where Mrs. Brown’s room will be.” 

“Okay, Mr. Negative. Let’s at least check that open room first.” 

“What room?” 

“That open one there.” 

Fred points out a door that is partially ajar and a cart with a large basket and mini soaps and lotions that sit outside. The lights inside appear to be out though and no one else is in the hallway. Fred starts toward the room, but Sam quickly grabs his arm.  

“Where are you going?” He hisses, “I told you we can’t just go into peoples’ rooms.”  

“Relax, it’s just room service,” Fred shrugs him off, “how would they know it’s not our room? And we could probably ask them about The Book. If someone found it, it could be in the lost and found or something.” 

“I... guess you’re right.”  

Sam still feels reluctant though as he follows him into the room. Sneaking around was never his thing, you never knew what trouble you could run into. Fred doesn’t hesitate though and heads straight to the desk near the window, going through the drawers and checking on the tables.  

“Be careful and put everything back exactly how you found it,” Sam whispers fearfully.  

“I know how to go through people’s things. I used to steal my brother’s stuff all the time.” 

“Yeah and he always caught you.” 

“What can I say? I learn from my mistakes,” Fred straightens up though, empty-handed, “I don’t see it, let’s go talk to the maid.”  

“I hope we don’t get her in trouble.” 

Sam follows Fred to the bedroom where the door is slightly open and the light is on.  

“Um, excuse me,” Fred calls out politely as he knocks and opens the door, “We were wondering if you could help us?” 

The door swings open and the maid spins around in surprise. Sam’s blood runs cold and the ground sways under his feet as their eyes meet. This can’t be happening. There’s no way this is happening. Statistically possible, completely probable considering they were on a ship. But they have to have the worst luck in the world to run into her right here, right now.  

“Oh great,” San-Li's mouth turns down in an annoyed frown, “You two again.” 

“We could say the same thing about you,” Fred returns angrily, “Are you following us or something?” 

“Yeah right, I have better things to do,” San-Li scoffs and turns back to the dresser. While she dusts with a feather duster in one hand, she opens a jewelry box with the other hand, pulls out a diamond necklace, and drops it in her apron pocket.  

“You’re stealing?” Sam bursts out in shock, “It’s not enough that you’re willing to let these people die, but you’re stealing from them too?”  

“Why not? It’ll all end up at the bottom of the ocean.” 

“But isn’t that wrong?” Fred asks, “You know, on a basic human decency level?” 

“Ugh, give me a break!” She dismisses with a groan, “You two are such bleeding hearts. Do you really think when this ship starts sinking Mrs. Rich will care about one of a dozen necklaces? You think when she has to leave her husband behind, she’ll think ‘oh well, at least my jewelry will be safe at the bottom of the ocean’?” 

That seems to stump Fred because he opens his mouth but then closes it again with a conflicted look on his face. San-Li notices and turns to them with an almost friendly smile. 

“Don’t tell me you two have never even thought about it?” she asks gently, “You’ve never seen something valuable, but historically insignificant, something that no one would miss, and figure, ‘hey, no one will notice if I take this. No one will care’?” 

Sam and Fred exchange a look. He doesn’t know if Fred remembers, but Sam definitely remembers the time when they warped to Ancient Egypt and a corrupt priest offered them all the treasure they could carry. It had turned out to be a trap, but Sam didn’t hesitate to stuff his shirt with gold and drape a bunch of gold collars around his neck. He had only been a kid back then, but the thought hadn’t even crossed his mind that he could be taking something archeologically significant. 

San-Li pulls another necklace out of the jewelry box and dangles it in front of them. It’s heavy with diamonds and rubies, and a large ruby pendant hangs at the end of it. She tosses it and Fred catches it on reflex.  

“Go ahead, keep it. I won’t tell anyone. It’ll be our... little secret.” 

Fred gives Sam a pained look, “Not that I trust her or anything, but is it wrong that I kind of want to keep it? This could buy me a car and a new computer.” 

“I’m standing right here,” San-Li deadpans. 

“Of course, we can’t keep it,” Sam ignores her and takes the necklace from Fred, “As... tempting as it is, stealing is still wrong. Besides, doesn’t this remind you of a certain Egyptian priest who tried to frame us as grave robbers?” 

“Oh yeah, Hautsnaut,” Fred glares at San-Li, “I knew we couldn’t trust you.” 

“Like I care,” San-Li rolls her eyes, “Just get out of here before you get me caught.” 

“Gladly-” Sam starts but Fred cuts him off. 

“Hold on,” He gives San-Li a mischievous smile, “You getting caught doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me. As a matter of fact, I think you deserve to get caught.” 

San-Li's entire body tenses and she narrows her eyes. Sam gives Fred a look of utter panic.  

“What are you doing?” He hisses, “Don’t antagonize her. Who knows what she’ll do to us?” 

“You should listen to your friend,” San-Li says in a low voice, “I don’t take kindly to being threatened.” 

“Oh yeah, well I don’t take kindly to my friends getting punched in the face or held hostage,” Fred fires back, “It would serve you right to get caught.” 

“I don't have a problem with you two... yet,” San-Li takes a slight menacing step forward. 

Sam edges back behind Fred, “maybe we should just get out of here.” 

“What is she going to do?” Fred scoffs, “She doesn’t have a sword, and I’m pretty sure I can take her in a fist fight.” 

San-Li laughs so suddenly it makes them both jump, “You think that’s the only thing I can do to you?” 

 A light goes on in the other room and a female voice rings out, “Oh dear, the maid hasn’t left yet?” 

“I’m sure she’s finishing up, dear,” A male voice answers.  

Panic briefly flits across San-Li's face and she levels a glare at them.  

“Last chance,” She whispers.  

“For you maybe,” Fred smirks and turns toward the door. 

But before he can say anything, San-Li gives a sudden scream, throws herself against the dresser, and falls to the floor, knocking a lamp over in the process.  

“What in heavens name was that!?” The woman cries and footsteps hurry to the bedroom.  

“You dorks asked for this,” San-Li mutters under her breath as she rips the shoulder of her uniform and takes on a terrified expression.  

Before Sam or Fred can move or even blink, a well-dressed couple bursts into the bedroom. San-Li breaks into tears that look way too real.  

“What is the meaning of this?” The man demands angrily.  

“Oh mercy, please mercy,” She sobs in an Irish accent, “I came in to clean when I caught these two thugs going through the missus's jewelry. When I demanded they leave, they- they- oh mercy!” 

She breaks into a fresh round of crying and Sam’s jaw drops. Her performance is scary good, he almost,  _almost,_ feels bad for her. Even knowing that she’s a psychopath he almost believes her.  

“Pfft, there’s no way you guys are buying this,” Fred rolls his eyes, “She was the one stealing, not us.” 

“My jewelry!” The woman yells and snatches the necklace from Sam.  

Sam feels his face flame as he looks between the angry adults and Fred, “I-I didn’t- I swear-” 

“Dear, call the ship’s master-at-arms at once,” The man orders, “I’ll make sure these two ruffians don’t escape.” 

His large body fills the doorway, preventing Sam and Fred from even attempting to escape while his wife picks up the phone and makes a strained phone call. When she finishes, she goes to comfort the still crying San-Li. 

“What do we do?” Sam whispers, “They totally believe her!” 

“I don’t know! What did you keep the necklace for?” 

“I forgot I had it!” 

Sam frantically tries to think of something, anything to get them out of this mess. But looking at the man and the woman, he can see that their minds are already made. They plead their case again to the ship officers, but they’re even less inclined to believe them. The next thing Sam knows, they’re hauled from the room. 

“Oh man, this is so embarrassing,” Fred groans as they’re dragged down the hall, “Sam, do something. Impress someone with your brain. Or cry like San-Li did.” 

“I am  _not_  going to cry.” 

“Well do something!” 

“Fine!” 

He tries to explain again to the steward dragging him by the arm, well, explain as much as he can, but no dice. They’re taken to a room with a desk, a chair, a cabinet full of keys, and a large pipe running through it. The two of them are uncuffed briefly just so the cuffs can be draped over the pipe and then they are handcuffed again.  

“There, that ought to hold you too,” the master-at-arms gives them a stern look, “Boys like you ought to be ashamed acting like common ruffians. Now if you behave yourselves for the rest of the voyage when we dock in New York-” 

“But we’re not going to dock in New York,” Sam interrupts desperately, “You have to listen to us, the ship is going to sink and if you leave us down here, we’ll  _die!”_  

“Nonsense!” The master-at-arms slams his hand on the desk and turns to leave, “Now you two behave or they’ll be no breakfast for you tomorrow.” 

“You’re really going to leave us down here all night?” Fred calls after him, but he’s already gone, shutting the door behind him. Fred sags against the pipe, “Well this sucks. We didn’t even do anything!”  

“I told you not to antagonize her!” Sam can feel himself start to hyperventilate. All he can see is icy water filling the small room, turning him and Fred into human popsicles. “We-we have to get out of here!” 

“Help!” Fred calls out and starts banging his cuffs against the pipe, “Help! Someone help!” 

“What’s that going to do!? They think we’re ruffians, remember?” 

“Well, it’s better than doing nothing.” 

Sam looks at him for a minute before nodding, “You’re right.” 

They both begin yelling at the top of their lungs, banging their cuffs on the pipe. At first, nothing happens. No one comes to rescue them. No one even comes down to tell them to be quiet. But just when his voice is starting to get hoarse and his wrists are throbbing, he hears something. A faint whistling.  

“Hey, listen,” He whispers to Fred, “Do you hear that?” 

Fred stops yelling and listens too. The whistling gets louder and there’s something vaguely familiar about the tune, but Sam just can’t put his finger on it. Footsteps echo down the hall as the whistling gets louder and closer.  

“Oh, thank goodness,” Sam sags against the pipe in relief, “Someone heard us. We’re saved.” 

When the door opens though, the smile immediately drops from his face. San-Li walks into the room, still whistling and closes the door behind her. Once again, she’s changed clothes. This time she’s wearing a brown skirt, leggings, and a white blouse with her hair in a messy braid. She looks like she just walked out of third class.  

“I knew it! You are following us!” Fred yells, “Are you here to gloat?” 

“Well, you did just try to do the same thing to me,” San-Li smirks and sits down on the desk, “I’d like to think this is... ironic justice. I think it’s only right I gloat a little.” 

“Okay, you’ve gloated. Is that all?” Sam asks angrily, “Because if I’m going to die down here, I’d rather do it without you laughing at me.” 

“Oh, don’t be like that. Believe it or not, I’m actually here to help you.” 

Far from being grateful, Sam exchanges a suspicious look with Fred and turns back to San-Li. “Why? You’ve done nothing but get us in trouble so far. Why would you want to help us now?” 

“Because believe it or not, I’m not totally heartless.”  

San-Li pulls a bobby pin from somewhere in her braid and goes over to Fred to start picking his handcuffs first. 

“You’re right, we don’t believe you,” Fred mumbles.  

“Hmph, like either of you would come help me if our positions were reversed. Which it nearly was.”  

Fred’s handcuffs pop open with a small click and she moves over to Sam to unlock his. Their eyes meet for a brief moment and he flinches back in fear. San-Li only raises an eyebrow and starts working on his handcuffs. As soon as his pop open, he begins rubbing his sore wrists. 

“So, what now?” Fred asks him, “we can try going back to Mrs. Brown’s room, but what if that Master-in-arms guy or a steward catches us? We’ll just end up right back here again.” 

“I have a room in third class,” San-Li speaks up casually, “You two can stay with me for the night.” 

They both look at her like she’s insane and she lifts her shoulders defensively.  

“What? I told you I wasn’t completely heartless. And it would only be for the night. Ship sinks tomorrow. I’m pretty sure you’ll be spending the rest of your time trying to get off the ship.” 

“Letting us go is one thing,” Sam says cautiously, “But giving us a place to stay is being exceptionally nice for someone who hates us.” 

San-Li narrows her eyes, “One- I barely know you, so I don’t care enough to hate you. Two- I can’t risk you panicking, blabbing about the ship sinking to save your skins. Three- the offer is fast expiring so make a decision.” 

Sam bites his lip and looks at Fred. He was right- if they try to make their way to Mrs. Brown’s room, there was a risk of getting noticed and put back down here. If that happened, he doubts that San-Li would rescue them again. And then when the ship hits the iceberg, they wouldn’t have to worry about the freezing to death. They would just drown trapped in a small room. But on the other hand, look what happened when Joe trusted her.  

“Wait! I know what it is!” Fred bursts out suddenly, “It’s the Book, isn’t it? You’re just pretending to be nice so we’ll give you The Book. Well, for your information, we don’t even have it!” 

“Fred! Don’t tell her that!” 

“Both of you chill out,” San-Li sighs testily, “I don’t want your stupid book. That thing is volatile and dangerous and not worth my time. And yours is fast expiring. Now, are you two coming or not?” 

Sam and Fred look at each other again and Fred shrugs helplessly. Sam sighs, turns back to her, and nods.  

“Gee, contain your enthusiasm,” San-Li mutters dryly and walks out of the room.  

Sam and Fred reluctantly follow her, making sure to keep their distance. She leads them through a series of hallways, avoiding crew members whenever possible. She doesn’t seem inclined to talk to either of them, and Sam can’t say he’s too eager to talk to her either. Joe had said she had been moody but helpful towards him before she went psycho, but she’s only been hostile and rude to them. The only thing Sam cares about though is to find The Book and get them off the ship. If that meant spending several hours sleeping with one eye open, then maybe could endure her for one night.  

“Can I ask you something?” Fred suddenly asks, “You keep saying that you don’t have anything personal against us, so why do you hate Joe so much? You don’t know him either.” 

Her shoulders stiffen and she goes quiet for a moment before answering, “I don’t like magicians. Or wizards. Especially Warp Wizards.” 

“What’s that got to do with anything?” 

“Are you familiar with Lord Acton?”  

“He was a British historian and moralist,” Sam answers before Fred can, “His most famous quote is ‘power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely’. But that doesn’t even remotely apply to Joe. If you actually took the time to get to know him-” 

“Don’t want to, don’t need to,” San-Li cuts him off tersely, “I’d rather be smart and stay alive.” 

They slow down in a hallway a lot plainer than the one in first class. Sam can also feel the vibrations of the engines here. San-Li opens one of the doors and they follow her inside a small room. There are four beds, attached bunk-bed style to the wall, a sink, and not much else. She flicks a switch on the wall and a single light bulb fills the room with yellow light. 

“Wow, this room is nothing compared with Mrs. Brown’s room,” Fred looks around in mild disappointment, “I thought this was supposed to be a luxury ship.” 

“Well look at you, one day in first class and you’re already spoiled,” San-Li snickers and sits down on one of the bottom beds. “This is actually a lot better than some of the other third-class rooms I’ve been in. I’ve only seen one rat so far.” 

“Rat!?” Sam immediately jumps up three rungs of the ladder on the other side of the room.  

San-Li snickers and even Fred tries to hide a smile. Sam huffs angrily and climbs the rest of the rungs to the top bunk.  

“I’m going to bed now,” He declares, slipping under the scratchy blankets, “First thing in the morning, we’re getting out of here and finding The Book. So, if you excuse me, I need some sleep.”  

He turns his face to the wall and moments later the lights go out and he hears Fred settle into the bunk under him. He lets out a nervous breath and turns back around. It might be better not to have his back turned, just in case. Not that the view is much better. There must have been some light coming from under the door because the room isn’t pitch black, but even so, all he can see is the empty bunk across from him. Still, he doesn’t want to sleep just yet until he knows she’s asleep. Just because she’s being nice now, doesn’t mean she’ll stay that way. And... he wants to make sure that a rat doesn’t eat his face while he sleeps.  

* * *

Sam doesn’t remember falling asleep, but a loud rumbling sound suddenly wakes him.  

“The iceberg! It’s the iceberg!” He splutters jolting up. But as the grogginess in his brain clears, he realizes that it isn’t the rumbling of the ship being torn open, but Fred loudly snoring in the bunk below him. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Sam groans, “What time is it even?” 

“Late,” A voice across the room grumbles.  

Sam jumps again and puts on his glasses to see San-Li climbing the ladder to get to the top of the other bed.  

“You could have warned me your friend snores, you know,” She continues to grumble as she grabs the pillow from the top bed. “Now I’ll have to take care of it if I want to get any sleep tonight.” 

“Wait, what!?” Sam shrieks and races down the ladder to stop her, “Don’t do it! He can’t help it! He-” 

San-Li reaches Fred’s bedside and looks at Sam like he’s insane, “What is the matter with you? Why are you screaming?” 

“Because you’re...” 

Sam trails off though as San-Li simply folds the pillow in half and tucks in under Fred’s head, propping his head at an angle and immediately stopping the snoring. Fred mumbles something incoherent but quickly settles back into a deep sleep. 

“... not going to smother him,” Sam finishes weakly. 

“Seriously?” San-Li gives him a mildly offended look, “You really think I’m so evil that I would save you two from drowning and bring you back to my room, only to kill you in your sleep over some snoring?” 

“I don’t know,” Sam shrugs helplessly, “For all I know, you could.” 

“Well, I’m not,” San-Li goes over to sit on her bed, “If you’re so afraid of me, why don’t you get your friend and find somewhere else to sleep tonight?” 

Sam only shrugs again. Part of him would rather take his chances on deck than risk any sudden personality changes that could get them killed. On the other hand, if she did want either of them dead, or if she was lying and really was after The Book, there were a million ways she could have done it already. 

Outside the door, there’s a sudden eruption of loud talking by what sounds like grown men speaking in Polish. San-Li groans and rubs her temples.  

“Great, now neither of us are getting any sleep tonight. We’re across the hall from two sets of Polish brothers who happen to be rival families and who just happen to have rooms next to each other. I’m usually asleep by the time they get started, but now...” 

The angry talking in the hall continues and Sam waits for a steward or someone to come and get them to quiet down, but no one comes. Fred sleeps on, completely oblivious.  

“Well, since neither of us are getting to sleep anytime soon...” 

 San-Li reaches under her bed and pulls out a duffle bag. From inside of that she pulls out a flat wooden box. “Property of the R.M.S. Titanic” is stamped onto a gold plate on the front. She unfolds it flat, revealing a chess set.  

“Wanna play?” She asks. 

“Play? Chess?” Sam blinks in surprise, “With- with you?” 

San-Li sighs, “Never mind. Forget it.” 

“No, wait,” Sam bites his lip and looks toward the door again. The loud talking isn’t getting any quieter. He turns back to San-Li and shrugs. “Sure. Alright.” 

She rolls her eyes at his less than enthusiastic response and sits down on the floor with her back against the bed. Sam sits across from her and as she sets up the pieces, a new dilemma comes to mind. What if when he beats her, because of course he will, she really does snap and try to kill him? For all he knows, she could be the world’s biggest sore loser. So, is he supposed to just lose on purpose? What if she realizes and gets even madder? 

San-Li starts by moving one of the black pawns, “Your move.” 

Sam debates for a minute before moving his white pawn forward on the other end of the board. It’s the safest move he can make while he thinks of a plan. Maybe he can lose slowly, so she won’t suspect- 

“Checkmate.” 

“What?” Sam blinks and looks at the board in shock. He could have sworn they only made about four moves each. How was a checkmate even possible!? But there was her knight, right in front of his king.  

“Hmph, and here that wizard jerk said you were good,” San-Li mumbles in disappointment, “Guess that was another thing he lied about.” 

Sam looks up with a glare, “I- I wasn’t concentrating. I want a rematch.” 

“Suit yourself,” she shrugs. 

The pieces are reset and this time, Sam watches her moves carefully. By the third move, he can see the trap she set, avoids it, and takes one of her rooks in retaliation.  

A faint smile crosses San-Li's face, “That’s more like it.” 

As the game continues, Sam actually begins to relax somewhat. Honestly, it’s taking so much energy just playing against her that he barely has the energy to be afraid of her. They play without talking for a little bit with the Polish shouting match as background noise. The match is a little more difficult than he anticipated, but he’s still fairly confident he can beat her. He moves a bishop and knows that he has her.  

“Check,” He declares triumphantly.  

San-Li bites her thumbnail and studies the board carefully. Her other hand hovers for a few seconds before moving one of her knights.  

“Check,” She echoes with a smirk.  

Sam bites his lip to hold back his frustration. He was vice president of the chess team, why was this so hard? He changes strategies and it takes a half a dozen more moves, but he finally gets her in checkmate. 

“Checkmate!” He shouts. 

Fred snorts loudly at the noise, but then rolls over and goes back to sleep. Sam presses his lips together to keep quiet and San-Li smothers a laugh.  

“Wow, you are excitable,” She giggles, “I guess I don’t need to ask if you want to play again.” 

“Sure,” Sam shrugs, “But, um... do you mind if I ask you something?” 

San-Li doesn’t answer for a moment while she resets the pieces, but then she nods.  

“Do you really not want The Book? Everyone I’ve met who knows about it obsesses over how powerful it is. And, no offense, but you seem like the exact kind of person who would want to steal it.” 

“Offense taken,” San-Li scoffs,” But that’s exactly why I don’t want to mess with it. Power like that is nothing but trouble and hard to control. Every time you open that thing there’s a chance you’ll end up who knows where and probably die.” 

“That’s what I try to tell Joe and Fred,” Sam sighs in exasperation, “They never listen to me though. I can’t count how many times we almost died as kids because of that thing.” 

“You dorks had The Book when you kids? How is the universe still intact?” 

“Hey, Joe and Fred said only changed history once. And they fixed it right back.” 

"Oh, please allow me to express my gratitude,” She chuckles dryly.  

She moves one of her pieces, taking Sam’s last bishop and putting his king in danger. Sam saves him with a rook. 

“I’m sorry, I have to say this, but do you really have to steal from the Titanic?” He asks, “There has to be a hundred other places you could get jewelry and stuff from. Why here?” 

San-Li tosses him a mildly annoyed look, but answers anyway, “If you really must know, I’m after something a lot more important to me than your dumb book. Let’s just leave it at that okay?” 

Sam nods and goes back to the game. He sees a way he can win, but it would take some serious strategizing. And there might be a way for him to really find out if she plans on blindsiding them again.  

“If I win this game,” he starts, “Can I ask you something else? And you’ll answer honestly?” 

San-Li raises her eyes to meet his, looking mildly surprised. He squirms as she studies him for a moment, but then she nods and moves one of her pieces. Sam moves, and then she moves again. Sam makes a move and San-Li takes a little longer making her next move. Sam moves a third time, and her hesitation is a lot longer before she moves again. Sam withholds a sigh of relief as he moves his piece. San-Li purses her lips raises her hand, lets it fall twice, before chuckling and knocking over her own king.  

“I concede,” She nods, “Ask away, kid.” 

“Um, okay,” Sam licks his lips nervously then goes for it, “Honestly, why are you helping us? You don’t seem to care about the other people on this ship dying. Why do you care if we die?” 

She doesn’t answer at first and instead starts resetting the pieces for a new game. Sam watches her carefully, ready to bolt or scream if she suddenly pulls out a knife or something.  

“It’s not that I don’t care,” she says finally, making her first move, “But...when you’ve time traveled as much as I’ve had, you’re bound to run into people who die sooner or later. You can’t save them without risking history, so you just have to put it out of your mind. You know what I mean, you’ve been time traveling since you were a kid. Have you saved every historical figure you’ve ever met?” 

Sam bites his lip. There was a time, back when Joe first got The Book, when the three of them ended up in the old west. They were kidnapped by Native Americans, had a trial for their lives, nearly killed by a warrior with a grudge, only to be saved by the chief of the tribe. But before they could go home, the cavalry was ready to kill them and Joe used The Book to save the entire tribe. When they got home though, Sam found out that the chief that saved them would die in battle only a few months later. It was sad, and they all felt sorry for him, but it wasn’t like they raced back in time to save him either.  

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” San-Li says quietly after looking at him for a minute. They continue playing, “Which is why I end up just... shutting it out of my mind. There’d be nothing I could do to save anyone, so why get worked up over it? Check.” 

Sam moves his king to safety, “But then, why save us?” 

“Because I’m guessing that you two weren’t meant to die here. So, I might as well. Consider it karma.” 

Sam relaxes a little bit more. So, maybe she wasn’t going to kill them after all. But that did leave another option.  

“So... since you aren’t going to kill us, and since you seem to know what you’re doing,” He hesitates before making his move, “Do you think you can help us find The Book and get home?” 

San-Li looks up in surprise and gives him a genuine smile before laughing, “Hell no.” 

“What?” Sam’s budding smile shatters, “But- but I thought-” 

“After all the crap you two have been giving me?” San-Li giggles, “You two dorks have been nothing but jerks to me, be completely suspicious of me since the beginning. Nothing has changed. We’re not friends. Like you said, first thing in the morning, you’re leaving so you can find The Book. I’ll find what I want, and hopefully, we’ll never cross paths again. Ever.” 

Sam sits back, completely dumbfounded. All he can do is stare at San-Li's mean, smug face.  

“I-I thought you said you weren’t heartless!?” 

“No, I said I wasn’t completely heartless,” She grins vindictively, “But I am pretty heartless.” 

“You know what?” Sam knocks over his king and stands up, “I think I’m done playing. I’m going to bed.” 

San-Li shrugs and cleans up while Sam climbs back into the top bunk. He doesn’t care that the yelling in the hallway is still going on. All he wants to do is go to bed, find The Book, and never time travel again.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little rusty so there might be some grammar issues, but hey, at least I finally updated. I was really stuck on trying to get this chapter just right.


	4. Chapter 4

There’s no clock in the room, but she knows what time it is. She always knows what time it is. It’s more than just instinct. It’s something deeper that she’s tried hard to ignore.  

San-Li gets up with a sigh to clear those unwanted thoughts and starts the cleanup process. There can’t be a single scrap of evidence left behind. Her clothes, her “souvenirs”- any trace that she was here goes into her duffle bag. She then makes the bed and does an extra check for candy wrappers. She knows that she shouldn’t bring outside food when she time travels, but it’s a habit she just can’t seem to shake.  

Once the duffle bag is fully packed, she takes out her pocket watch and sets the time and location to her place. A circle of blue-green light overcomes her things and they disappear with a flash. The only thing she has left is the note in her pocket. She pulls it out and gives it a final read over.  

 _Miss San-Li_  

 _The only defense you need against your greatest foe can be found in a small box. Don’t underestimate its power. Titanic cargo_ _hold_ _, April 14_ _th_ _._ _“X” marks the spot._ _Wait for the close to the sinking.  The ensuing chaos will cover your tracks._  

 _N &T _ 

The note was just sitting under her door a few days ago, waiting for her. She has no idea who N&T was, but somehow, they knew who she was. It almost made her move house then and there, but curiosity had gotten the better of her. Something to protect her from the Warp Wizard? It almost sounded too good to be true. If it was the real thing, she could continue doing her thing without worrying about any interruptions or interference. The note doesn’t say what the thing even is or how it would protect her if she did get it, but after some thinking, she decided it was worth the risk.  

Anyways, if it turns out to be a false lead, it wasn’t like she was leaving empty-handed. As a matter of fact, she still has a lot of time to kill before the ship hits the iceberg. Plenty of time to make another round through first class. Maybe even enjoy another first-class dinner. It’s not every day she gets wined and dined like the Titanic can provide. Her mouth practically waters thinking about those chocolate eclairs they serve for dessert.  

“Ok girl, focus,” San-Li mumbles to herself and forces herself to focus so she can finish up.  

She starts to leave the room, but something makes her pause. She looks back at the two still sleeping figures in the bunk bed. It doesn’t look like they are planning to wake up anytime soon, and it isn’t like there are any complimentary alarm clocks in third class.  

A bit of remorse touches her for a moment, but she quickly shakes it out of her head. She isn’t responsible for either of them, she did her part by letting them out of confinement. They’ll wake up sometime, and have plenty of time to find their Book before the ship sinks. And if they didn’t, their wizard friend would save them. If he doesn’t know how already, Blondie is bound to have taught him instant recall already.  

And San-Li can’t risk a confrontation with either of them right now. So, she pulls her coat tighter over her dress, pulls her hat down, and leaves the room, closing the door quietly behind her. She passes by a few chattering families as she walks down the hallway. A kid runs by her kicking a rough leathery ball. Even in third class the ship is busy with activity.  

Cold air greets her as she steps out on deck. More kids are playing even in the cold weather and a couple of old men are talking and smoking cigarettes. San-Li shivers. She hates the cold. Always has. Always will.  

She veers away from the passengers, squeezing between the railing and a smoke stack, hopping the gate to the second-class deck. Hidden from view, she takes off her coat, flipping it inside out to reveal a softer, more upper-class material than the coarser outside. She leaves it open to show off the elegant dress she’s wearing underneath. The ratty hat is also turned inside out to turn into a more stylish hat with a bow on it. Costume change complete, San-Li walks through second class confidently heading to first class.  

“That’s a load of bull.”  

“But they sounded pretty sure. The guy said the ship was going to sink tonight.” 

San-Li's steps immediately slow and she drifts closer to the source of the conversation. Two stewards, one older and gruff-looking, the other one younger and nervous looking, were straightening deck chairs and casually walking along the deck.  

“I don’t know Charlie, it leaves me with a bundle of nerves,” The younger one shudders, “Can you imagine being stuck out here in the middle of the ocean? I can hardly swim.” 

“Put it out of your mind, boy. I heard those two were roughing up some poor maid. They would have said anything to get out of their punishment.” 

“You didn’t see them. That guy looked really sure. What if they know something we don’t?” 

“Hush with that noise now,” The older man quickly shushes him when he spots San-Li. He gives her a nod and a smile, “Morning, ma’am.” 

“Good morning,” San-Li quickly passes them and her smile turns into a scowl. “I’ll kill those idiots.” 

* * *

Sam is jostled awake by a hand shaking his shoulder. He jumps, nearly falling out of the bed and is barely steadied by the same hand that was shaking him. 

“Dude, relax,” Fred says, “It’s just me.”  

“Fred?” Sam puts on his glasses to see more clearly, “What’s going on? What time is it?” 

“Beats me. It feels late though. Like when I sleep in on Sundays,” Fred sits on the bed next to Sam, “But on the bright side, that psycho’s gone. Looks like she cleared out and we have all of our limbs intact.” 

Sam looks over and sees that he’s right. The other side of the room is completely empty, not a single trace of the time thief remaining. Even though he asked for her help he can’t help but feel relieved. Being around her was unsettling, to say the least.  

“So, do we have time to eat breakfast?” Fred asks, “I search better on a full stomach.” 

“I guess so, but don’t get your hopes up too high. We’re not in first class anymore.”  

They leave the room and follow a random family to the dining hall. It’s a lot less decorative than the first-class dining room, but still pretty nice. Breakfast isn’t so bad either. There’s less variety but all the helpings they’re given more than make up for it. But Sam is impatient to get going and find The Book. Who knows how much time they already wasted sleeping in? He waits for Fred to finish his final plate of ham and eggs before speaking up.  

“Okay, so now that you’re full, let’s start searching,” He says, “We probably won’t have access to first class anymore but there’s still second and third class to look through.” 

“But we already went through second-class,” Fred points out, “The Book definitely wasn’t in any of the places we checked.” 

“I know, but I’d feel a lot better if we double checked,” Sam sighs, “The ship is more than just first-second and third-class sections. The Book could be wedged somewhere we barely looked. And the further we stay away from the bottom of the ship the better.” 

“Makes sense to me,” Fred quickly gets up from the table, “Let’s get started before that iceberg hits.” 

As they get started on their search, Sam tries to remember everything he can about the layout of the Titanic. It’s been a while since he was interested in ship design and layout, but he thinks he can remember enough about the layout in order to get them around. There are a few directions on some areas of the ship, but they mostly direct passengers to the public areas. It isn’t like there are maps with emergency routes on the wall. 

 Access to B deck is completely blocked to them because it’s mostly first class, but they manage to sneak onto C deck and start there. Sometimes they split up, sometimes they stay together, but they make sure to comb everywhere a book could be hiding before moving on. It’s a ship, there’s only so many places it can be. But it’s the Titanic, there’s a lot of places it can be.  

Time quickly begins to run out on them as they finish looking in C deck, move down to D deck, and finally end up in E deck. They check public areas, every nook, and cranny, and even ask everyone they came across even if they didn’t speak English. But still no book. In desperation, they finally end up in the very bottom of the ship- F deck. They don’t have any luck in the first two cargo holds near the front of the ship, or in the third-class galley, or even the engine room they ran through before they got chased off.  

They end up in the cargo hold at the rear of the ship, their last option. They split up to look faster.  

"Are you seeing anything?” Fred calls to Sam from across the room. 

“Not yet,” Sam sighs, “I’m going to keep looking though. We checked the two other cargo holds at the front of the ship. The only other cargo hold is the refrigeration hold. The Book has to be here.”  

But what if it wasn’t? It’s probably dark out already. They spent so much time running around the ship looking for The Book. Sam starts to feel the panic sink in and he takes a deep breath to push it aside. He walks further into the hold until he can’t hear Fred anymore. All the trunks and luggage must be muffling the sound despite the vast size of the room. But a small sound suddenly makes him tense.  

“Fred?” He whispers, “Is that you?” 

There’s no answer. Which means it could either be a rat or worse, a steward who might kick them out. Sam looks around for a place to hide. The sound gets closer and he slowly backs up, turning around a corner to try and keep out of sight. The noise stops but before he can let out a breath of relief, a hand covers his mouth. 

“MMMHFFP!” 

“Oh, be quiet. You’re such a squealer. You’re going to get us caught,” A familiar voice says.  

He’s turned around and comes face to face with San-Li, who’s now wearing fancy clothes again.  

Sam jerks himself out of her grip, “Fred is just on the other side of this room, if I scream, he’ll come running.” 

“Is that whose down here?” San-Li pulls out a crowbar, “For a minute I thought it was someone I needed to worry about. Like that steward you freaked out with all your sinking talk. Didn’t I warn you about that?” 

Sam eyes the crowbar and swallows nervously, “Wh-what are you going to do?” 

“This,” San-Li eyes crates until she finds one with an “X” chalked in the top left corner. She then thrusts the crowbar into the side of it and breaks apart one of the panels. Hay spills out of it onto the floor. She rifles through it gently with the end of her crowbar. “So, I’m guessing you haven’t found what you’re looking for otherwise you still wouldn’t be here.” 

Sam glares at her, too annoyed at her and too anxious about the truth to answer. San-Li laughs at his silence.  

“I take that as a yes. But I think I found what I’m looking for.”  

San-Li bends down and picks up something wrapped in cloth, also marked with an “X”.  

“What is that?”  

“This,” San-Li holds it up triumphantly, “Is just a little something that will protect me against your little wizard friend.” 

 Sam eyes the object in fear. Was is a weapon? Something more powerful than The Book? Some sort of invincibility? He tenses as she unwraps it, but his apprehension turns into confusion when it’s revealed to be some sort of puzzle box made out of stone, with symbols carved into it. 

“What the-” San-Li's expression is also one of confusion as she turns the box around in her hand. She fumbles with it and a line of the squares twist in her hand like a Rubix’s Cube, but nothing else happens. “Is this a toy? And what’s with the weird carvings?” 

Sam leans a little closer, curiosity getting the better of his fear. Looking at it more closely, he recognizes the carvings. “It’s Sumerian. I remember it from a book of dead languages I got once. It’s pre-Egyptian dating back to at least 3500 BC.”  

“Ancient language? Ugh!” San-Li groans in frustration, “I hate translating texts. It takes forever and it’s soooo booooring.” 

“I can read a little of it,” Sam takes another step closer, “May I?” 

San-Li gives him a look but shrugs, “Knock yourself out, kid.” 

She tosses the box to him and he barely manages to catch it. He ignores her mocking chuckle and studies the box. A few years ago, he was really into dead languages and ancient civilizations. Sumerian was difficult, but not impossible. There are a lot of symbols carved onto the tiny squares but it’s in surprisingly good condition. He can’t read everything, but going by a couple of symbols he could read, he realized they were instructions on how to open it. He twists the top and sides a few times until some of the symbols line up and a crease widens in the middle of the box. 

“You opened it!?” San-Li exclaims in surprise and snatches it from him.  

“You’re welcome,” Sam mutters in annoyance.  

She ignores his sarcasm and opens the box at the crease on a hidden hinge. Inside is a thick, dull silver ring with more symbol carvings nestled in velvet. She pulls it out and tries it on her ring finger but it’s too big. She switches it to her thumb where it fits better, but not by much. 

“This is it?” She says in disappointment. “Nothing is happening. How is this ring supposed to help me? It doesn’t even look valuable.” 

An idea hits Sam and he acts on it before he loses his nerve. If common human decency doesn’t get through to her, maybe bargaining will.  

“You know, there are more instructions on that box,” he starts temptingly, “I could... translate it for you.” 

“Really?” San-Li's expression brightens and she tosses the box to him again, “Do it, nerd.” 

“It’s Sam, and I didn’t say I would do it for nothing,” He takes a breath and braces it, “I’ll translate this for you, if you help us find The Book and get off this ship.” 

San-Li's expression immediately hardens. Sam starts getting nervous but repeats himself.  

“I... I can translate this for you. I already figured out how to open it. If you help us find The Book- I can do the rest.” 

San-Li stares him down suspiciously and takes a step closer, causing him to take a step back.  

“And how do I know,” She says, her voice low and menacing, “That as soon as you get your little book, you won’t just warp away without fulfilling your end of the deal?”  

“Because I won’t,” Sam tries to keep his voice firm but can feel his bravado quickly fading. They’re running out of time and if he can’t get her to trust him, he and Fred might be stuck on the ship until it sinks. He tries another desperate ploy, “Look, I’ll give you my address or phone number or whatever so you can find me if you want! I’m getting desperate here!” 

San-Li steps back with a surprised laugh, “Geez kid, stop shrieking. You’re like a banshee. I’ll do it.” 

“R-really?” Sam feels his entire body sag with relief, “So we have a deal? I help you; you help me?” 

 San-Li hesitates for a moment, looking at the ring on her thumb. After a minute though, she nods and holds out her hand, “Deal.” 

Sam takes her hand and gives it a firm shake. As soon as they shake, the ring around San-Li's thumb locks down with a light click. She snatches her hand back in mild surprise and looks at her now tightened ring, but doesn’t say anything about it. Sam glances at it too, but figures their handshake must have incidentally pressed against it.  

“Your book is in the ship’s bridge,” She informs him matter-of-fact.  

“What!?” Sam snaps, slack-jawed, “You knew where it was all along? Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” 

“It wasn’t my business,” She smirks, “Now I can take you there and get you inside, but after that, you’re on your own.” 

“Or maybe Fred and I will just go by ourselves. That way we can avoid any more surprises from you.” 

“Dressed like that? They wouldn’t let you in first class let alone in the bridge.” 

Sam looks down at himself and unfortunately realizes that she’s right. He and Fred never changed their clothes from the casual stuff they were wearing yesterday. San-Li is back to being dressed in fancy clothing.  

“Fine,” Sam gives in begrudgingly, “But we’ll meet you up top. I don’t want Fred to know that I just made a deal with the devil.” 

The amused smile stays on San-Li's face but her eyes narrow dangerously. Sam cringes so hard he nearly swallows his own tongue and quickly looks for an escape route. What is wrong with him? Is he trying to get himself killed!? But she doesn’t do any more than give a dry scoff and move past him, bumping his arm on purpose.  

“Meet me up top by the stairs,” she throws over her shoulder.  

Sam rubs his arm where she bumped him and he goes to find Fred. What in the world did he just get himself into? He finds Fred elbow deep in a giant leather trunk filled with what looked like white, lacy fabric.  

“Hey,” He straightens up when he sees Sam, “Did you find it?” 

“No, but I know another place we can look- the ship’s bridge. We should get there before-” 

A sudden shudder makes the entire room shake knocking Sam off his feet and nearly knocking Fred into the trunk he was looking through. The shaking stops just as suddenly as it started, but Sam’s stomach is still doing flips. 

“What was that?” Fred asks picking himself up.  

“It hit. It hit. The ship hit the iceberg!” Sam takes deep breathes trying to keep himself from hyperventilating, “We have to get out of here now! Before we’re underwater. We have less than three hours before the ship completely sinks.” 

“Then what are we still doing down here? Let’s go!” 

The two of them race through the cargo hold to the ladder leading out of there. And maybe it was Sam’s paranoia, but he can swear that they’re already tilting. Once they’re on D deck, he knows he’s right. The floor is definitely tilting. Shouts echo down the hall as several men in soot stained overalls run by them.  

Sam swallows the panic welling in his throat and tugs on Fred’s arm, “Come on, let’s get to the stairs. If we stay to the back of the ship we can steer clear of the rising water.” 

Fred nods and they rush towards the back of the ship where the staircase. Sam notices that the only people who seem know something is off are the men in overalls who he guesses where probably in the engine room when it happened. The occasional passenger they pass look curious and mildly confused, but not anxious or in any sort of hurry.  

“It doesn’t seem like anyone else knows what’s going on,” Fred says. He must have noticed the idling passengers too. “Should we warn them?” 

Before Sam can answer he suddenly bumps into someone running from the other direction and is knocked to the floor.  

“Hey, watch it!” Fred yells after him as he helps Sam up.  

The person who bumped him barely glances at them, but then they do a double take and stop in their tracks. The steward, only a few years older than them and really nervous looking, stares at them with wide eyes.  

“It’s- it’s you,” He stammers, “You’re the boys who knew this was going to happen. You knew this ship was going to sink!” 

“It was a... lucky guess,” Sam lies quickly, “But now we really need to go.” 

“No, you’re not,” The steward’s hand trembles as he reaches into his back pocket and aims a gun directly at them, “Not without taking me with you.”  


	5. Chapter 5

It takes two shaking hands for the steward to hold the gun. He’s sweating bullets like he just ran a marathon. But Fred doesn’t have a single doubt in his mind that this random steward is amped up enough to pull the trigger. Sam is hyperventilating behind him, so it’s up to him to try and diffuse the situation. The steward is standing just a little too close for Fred to tackle him though, so he has to try and talk him down instead.  

“Hey, let’s just try to calm down,” Fred tries to keep his voice calm too, “Don’t you think that gun is going a little too far?” 

“I’m- I’m not playing games here,” the steward licks his lips nervously, “Everyone said that this ship was unsinkable, but somehow you two knew that it would sink. You knew that it would sink tonight. And you’re not leaving me here on it to die!” 

“Okay, okay, we’ll get you off the ship!” Sam yelps in panic, “But we have to get to the stairs!” 

“The stairs? No, no. We’re taking the lift.” 

“But that will take us toward to the bow of the ship!  _Towards_ the rising water!” 

The gun goes off, hitting the wall less than a foot above their heads. The steward lowers the gun to aim at them again. Fred gets the message and immediately starts moving, dragging Sam with him who is still glancing back towards the stairs.  

“Maybe taking the elevators will be better,” Fred whispers, “They’d definitely be faster.”  

“If we can get to them in time,” Sam whispers back.  

Fred looks down and realizes that Sam might be unfortunately right. The water was actually in the hallway now, making the carpet soggy. More people were running past them now, not even seeming to notice that there was a steward holding a gun to their backs. That or they didn’t care because they finally realized that the Titanic was in trouble.  

“Go faster!” the steward snaps, jabbing the gun in Fred’s back, “I don’t want to die down here!” 

“You think we do?” Fred snaps back, “Take it easy with that thing!” 

The water is rising at an unsettling rate, faster than they’re walking. In only a few short minutes, the water is starting to splash against their sneakers. By the time they actually made it to the elevator Fred’s feet were soaking wet and numb from the cold. The steward ushers them into the elevator before stepping in with them. Still holding the gun with one hand, he struggles to close the elevator gates and work the lever.  

“What should we do?” Fred whispers while he’s distracted, “We can’t actually take him with us, can we?” 

“Maybe we can lose him once we’re on deck. As long as we get him to a lifeboat he should be satisfied.”  

“What about the whole woman and children first thing?” 

Sam only shrugs helplessly. The elevator finally shudders to life just as water starts pouring in around their ankles. The water starts to pour out though as the elevator goes up, but it shudders and shakes so much that it was a wonder how it was working at all. The elevator comes to a screeching halt only a few floors up. The tilting in the hallway is even worse now and more people seem to at least have an idea that something was wrong. No one is really panicking yet, but there’s a general sense of unease as they walk around in mild confusion, half dressed in their pajamas. Once again, the steward struggles to open the elevator’s gates with one hand while keeping the gun trained on them. He steps out and looks frantically back at them.  

“Well come on now,” he gestures impatiently, “Get out. We have to get to the first-class lifts.”  

“But- but, we can’t get onto another elevator,” Sam argues, “the power could go out any minute! If it does while we’re still inside-” 

A second shot from the gun misses him by mere inches this time, stunning both him and Fred into silence.  

“You will do as I say,” the steward yells looking close to falling apart, but the gun is still pointing directly at them, “or I’ll- AHH!” 

Something small and dark flies through the air and hits his hand, making him drop the gun. He looks over in shock just as San-Li runs up to him and punches him in the face, knocking him out cold. She gives Fred and Sam an annoyed look as she steps over the steward’s unconscious body.  

“You two are way more trouble than you’re worth,” She says, “And you’re not worth much.” 

She goes over to the wall and plucks out a small, black blade embedded into the polished wood. She tucks it into the sleeve of her dress before looking over her shoulder at them.  

“Well come on,” she says impatiently, “Do you want to get off this ship or not?” 

“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” Fred shakes himself out of his daze and gives her a suspicious look, “Are you offering to help us? Again? And how did you find us?” 

“Not important. Now are you coming or what?” 

“W-we should probably go with her, right?” Sam looks at Fred nervously, “The bridge in is first class and we might need her to get access. Remember last time we tried to get into first-class by ourselves? They kicked us out because of how we looked.” 

“But why should we trust her? What’s in it for her?” 

Sam tenses and shakes his head, but San-Li only levels Fred with a nonchalant look. 

“It’s my good deed for the year, now do you want my help or not?” 

“Fred, what choice do we have?” Sam hisses, “Look, the floor is already tilting away from us.”  

“Okay, fine,” Fred gives in but still looks at San-Li suspiciously, “But if you try anything-” 

“Just shut up and follow me.” 

She starts to walk away and Fred starts to follow, but Sam hesitates. 

“Wait,” He gestures to the still unconscious steward, “What about him? We’re not just going to leave him here, are we?” 

“Seriously?” San-Li groans and gives Sam an impatient look, “The guy was holding you at gun point and you’re actually worried about him?” 

“Hey, not all of us are cold-blooded like you,” Fred says, “We could at least take him up deck. Give him a fighting chance.” 

San-Li chews her bottom lip for a minute and looks Fred up and down like she’s checking him out. She then shrugs and gives a small nod.  

“Alright, if you think you’re strong enough to carry him big guy, be my guest.” 

Fred scoffs, “ _If_ I’m strong enough.” 

Looking at the body though, he isn’t one-hundred percent sure he can carry the body all the way up deck. The guy is skinny, but he is a little taller than him. He could probably ask Sam for some help, but it’s not like he’s much of a weight lifter anyway.  

“Well?” San-Li says even more impatiently, “We’re waiting.” 

“Hold your horses! I got it. Sam, help me with him.” 

Fred kneels in front of the steward as Sam struggles to lift him enough to put him on Fred’s back. San-Li just watches, not even bothering to offer a hand even though she seems to be in a hurry too. Sam is practically panting by the time he gets the steward on Fred’s back, and Fred tries not to grunt too loudly as he stands up and takes on his full weight.  

“Well?” He glares at San-Li and struggles to keep the strain out of his voice, “Ready--when you-- are.” 

San-Li rolls her eyes and begins walking fast. Fred follows trying not to let his knees shake too much with Sam close beside him. San-Li doesn’t let up the pace as she weaves in between passengers and leads them through hallways and passages. The tilting starts getting worse, making it harder and harder for Fred to find his footing. Suddenly, the lights start to flicker, going out completely for a few tense moments before coming back on again. Sam hitches in a sharp breath, but it’s San-Li who speaks first. 

“This is taking way too long. We have to move faster or else...” She trails off and bites at her thumbnail, looking deep in thought. Her eyes fall to Fred before movement out the window catches her eye. One of the lifeboats are being lowered down into the water.  

“I got it,” She says.  

She unlatches the window and opens it wide. She then gestures for Fred to come forward with the steward.  

“Here, sit him on the sill and wait for my signal,” she instructs.  

Fred starts to step forward but Sam stops him, “Hang on, are you going to push him out of the window?” 

“Into the lifeboat... if we time it right,” San-Li smirks a little, “Ready?” 

“Like you said, what choice do we have?” Fred reminds Sam and steps backward toward the window, sitting the steward on the sill.  

“Okay, on my count, and then shove him out really, really hard.” 

 San-Li waits for the lifeboat to go past them. Fred watches too, trying to judge the distance. The lifeboat isn’t actually flush with the ship; there is a sizable gap so he’ll have to practically throw the guy if he wants him to make it into the lifeboat and not in the water.  

“One... two... three!”  

Fred gives a gigantic shove and throws the steward out the window. He wakes up about halfway down and gives a gigantic scream as he falls through the air. But Fred’s aim is perfect and he falls right into the lifeboat, even landing in an empty row since the lifeboat only has like ten people in it.  

“Alright!” Fred cheers, “I am the man!” 

“Pump your ego later. We have to get going,” San-Li says tensely already walking again.  

Without the steward weighing them down, they’re able to move a lot faster. The ship makes an eerie groaning sound and there’s a distant explosion from high above them.  

“I think they’re firing the emergency rockets up top,” Sam says and turns to San-Li, “How much further until we’re on deck?” 

“When we hit freezing air, you’ll know.” 

Now it’s Sam’s turn to glare at her back as the make their way through the sinking ship. The water hasn’t yet reached their level, but the tilt of the hallway was undeniable. Passengers stumble as they try and work their way up top too. But soon the press of bodies become harder and harder to push through. San-Li gets knocked back more than once by a couple of men trying to push their own way to the front of the crowd.  

San-Li swears under her breath, “Well this is a little more than bothersome.” 

“Here, let someone with real muscle handle this,” Fred moves her aside and starts pushing his way through.  

He does slightly better getting through the press of bodies and San-Li and Sam follow in his wake until the bodies get too thick for even him to push his way through.  

“I thought you and your muscles could handle this,” San-Li mocks.  

“I got farther than you, short stuff,” Fred shoots back.  

By standing on tip toe and craning his neck, he can just barely see above the crowd of people. At the base of a set of stairs is a closed gate and on the other side of that gate is an officer. He yells to make himself heard above the noise of nervous and scared passengers.  

“Decks A and B have been restricted to first-class passengers only,” He shouts firmly, “Second-class passengers will be will be allowed access once all first-class passengers are off the ship first. Again, Decks A and B have been restricted to first-class passengers only...” 

Fred stands level again and looks at the others, “It’s no good. The gate’s locked and the officer isn’t letting anyone through. Didn’t the steward say something about elevators?” 

“We can’t. The power, remember?” Sam points out, “Besides, they’re probably restricted too.”  

“Well we’ll just have to un-restrict them then,” San-Li says darkly and pushes her way back through the crowd.  

Sam looks at Fred nervously, “What do you think she’s about to do?” 

“I dunno but we might as well keep following her.” 

Pushing their way back is easier than pushing their way forward. San-Li takes them back through the hallway and down a different route. They eventually come across a set of elevators with an operator standing guard but instructing people away.  

“I’m sorry but the lifts are closed for the moment,” He instructs one such couple with only a hint of unease in his voice, “If you’ll go down this hallway though, toward the stairs someone will be able to direct you further.” 

The couple moves on, going in the direction the three of them just came from. The operator straightens up a bit when he sees San-Li, but he doesn’t make a move to unblock the elevator.  

“I’m sorry ma’am, but the lifts are closed-” 

“Take us up.” 

“I’m sorry ma’am, but if you’ll just-” 

“I don’t have time for this. Take us up,  _now_.” 

“I’m sure they’ll let you pass if you’ll just-” 

San-Li's fist shoots out, grabs the operator by the collar, and pulls his ear close to her mouth. She whispers a few words that Fred can’t hear, but the operator’s face goes pale and he quickly straightens up and opens the elevator gates.  

“Yes ma’am, if you’ll just step this way,” He says in an even more uneasy tone and ushers them inside. 

Fred and Sam exchange a look but follow San-Li into the elevator. Fred can’t help his curiosity though and leans down towards San-Li. 

“What did you say to him?” He whispers. 

San-Li cocks an eyebrow, “Do you really want to know?” 

Fred shakes his head and straightens up again. The elevator shudders and shakes as it rises, even worse than the last time. It even stops a few times as the lights flicker in and out. By the time it finally reaches the top, the operator gets out faster than any of them and runs away not bothering to look back.  

He isn’t the only one in a hurry. On this floor, passengers wearing a mix of elegant clothes and fancy pajamas under their life vests are starting to panic. Some are rushing towards the exits that lead to the deck, creating a traffic jam. Crying wives cling to their husbands, confused children stare at the sliding furniture, and a few men are just sitting around, sadly drinking brown liquid out of glasses.  

“This way.”  

San-Li directs them, not to the exits, but toward one of the large picturesque windows. Without a word to either of them, she opens it up and steps outside into the freezing night air. Fred goes out after her and after a minute of hesitation, Sam follows after him. They step out on tilting deck and the cold closes around Fred like a fist. Maybe it’s because they were in danger now, but for some reason the cold feels even sharper than when they first warped. He and Sam stop though when San-Li starts walking down the tilt of the deck instead of up.  

“Are you crazy?” Fred yells, “You’re heading straight for the water!” 

“Fred, the ship sinks front first, where the bridge is,” Sam speaks up from behind him, “But we have to hurry before it tilts too far and we fall.” 

“Then shut up and keep going,” San-Li snaps. 

The three of them shuffle along, their feet sliding more than stepping across the deck. Music begins to waft toward them but it’s hard to hear over the crew members trying to give instructions to the panicking passengers.  

Before the deck becomes completely impossible to shuffle along, San-Li hops over a rail gate where more officers are running around. She waits a moment before signaling them to follow her. Fred hops over easily enough while Sam barely manages not to fall flat on his face.  

“Where’s the bridge?” He says as soon as he gets up, “We need to look for The Book there.” 

“This way.” 

The deck is swarming with officers giving orders and ushering first class passengers to lifeboats. Everything is chaotic and the constant shouting and running around doesn’t help. Fred also can’t help but notice that the people on this deck were either crew or first-class passengers. There were hardly any second or third-class passengers anywhere. An officer with an arm full of life-vests glances at him and Sam and starts to frown, but when his eyes land on San-Li, his face clears and he hurries on again. 

That changes though when once they make it inside the bridge itself.  

“Miss, what are you doing here?” an officer immediately rushes over to San-Li, “you need to get to a lifeboat immediately.” 

“Well then do your job and lead me to one, immediately!” San-Li demands, taking on a fake, high-pitched panicky voice, “There’s nothing but chaos out there and I demand an escort for my safety!” 

“Miss, I can hardly-” 

“Now!” 

She storms out and with one confused look the officer follows after her. As he does, San-Li glances over her shoulder and signals at Fred and Sam.  

“Now’s our chance,” Sam says and they rush inside before someone can stop them.  

But by the looks of things, they may not have needed the distraction after all. If it was chaotic on deck, it was twice as crazy in the bridge. Officers and stewards were either running around or shouting confused orders. The only one not going crazy was a man with a white beard and captain's hat standing at the helm and staring blankly at the rising ocean.  

“Fred, look!” Sam rushes to a table loaded with books and maps. He pulls The Book out from under the pile and holds it triumphantly, “We found it! We actually found it!” 

“Hey! You boys! What are you doing here!? And what’s that in your hand!?”  

“Nothing!” Fred quickly snatches The Book from Sam and hides it behind his back. He then leans over to whisper, “Let’s hurry up and get out of here.” 

They rush out of the bridge and back onto the deck into even more trouble. The deck is now complete pandemonium in the short time they were inside. The crew isn’t bothering to try and help passengers anymore. Everyone is running around trying find a lifeboat or life-jacket or anything that floated. Deck furniture breaks as they slide down the deck and collide or fall off the ship. Terrified people are starting to jump from the railings rather than risk falling off. 

“What are we standing around here for?” The panic starts to get to Fred too, “Let’s get warping already.” 

“We can’t warp here!” Sam tries to yell above the noise, “There’s too many people around!” 

“Then where should we go?” Fred clutches The Book tightly and tries not to get swept away by the crowd.  

Someone bumps into Sam, nearly knocking him over. He struggles to stand again, using Fred to help himself up.  

“The first-class lounge,” Sam declares once he’s upright again, “Everyone is trying to get off the ship now. They’ll be no one in there.” 

“Good idea. Let’s go!” 

The run through the deck, trying to avoid sliding deck chairs and running passengers. The power goes out completely leaving them in near darkness with only the stars outside providing light. But they’re able to get to a door marked “Lounge. First-class only” that was unguarded. Inside, the yelling and panic is softened to a dull roar. Sam is right. With everyone panicking outside, the lounge was deserted.  

“Great idea Sam,” Fred says, “Now let’s-” 

“Wait,” Sam stiffens and points over Fred’s shoulder, “Look.” 

Fred turns and sees two figures standing by the fireplace. Thomas Andrews is smiling down at San-Li with a sad but peaceful expression on his face while San-Li stares up at him actual, honest, have-to-see-it-to-believe-it tears in her eyes.  

“Thomas, please,” she pleads softly, “you can still make it out of here. There’s no reason for you to die on this ship.” 

Mr. Andrews shakes his head though, “There was no reason for anyone to die on this ship. But that is my cross to bear and I shall bear it with the ship I so fatefully designed.” 

“This isn’t your fault!” San-Li's voice rises sharply, “You don’t deserve to die because of one mistake. The world shouldn’t lose a brilliant man because of one mistake!” 

“Thousands of people shouldn’t die because of one mistake either,” He answers quietly.  

San-Li's head drops and as Thomas Andrews turns back to the fire, he glances up and sees the two of them. His expression doesn’t change and he acknowledges them with a nod.  

“Ah Samuel, Frederick, it’s nice to see you two again,” He chuckles faintly, “If only under better circumstances.” 

“H-hey, Mr. Andrews,” Sam waves weakly.  

San-Li's head snaps up and she sends them a blazing look of hatred made only scarier by the reflection of the firelight. 

“It seems you were right after all, Samuel,” Mr. Andrews continues, not noticing San-Li's fiery glare, “As it turns out my ship has some fatal flaws indeed.” 

“None of this is your fault, Mr. Andrews,” Sam says firmly, “Alot of factors contributed to this tragedy.” 

Mr. Andrews just shakes his head and gives a tired sigh, “I’m not a man to turn away from my responsibilities. But perhaps there is one favor that I may ask you?” 

Sam swallows hard and nods. Mr. Andrews puts a hand on the small of San-Li's back and ushers her toward them. Her feet are practically dragging but she’s no longer glaring at them. Her expression is unreadable.  

“Please, escort her onto a lifeboat and see that she gets home safely,” Mr. Andrews says and turns to San-Li, “However this journey might have ended, it was a pleasure meeting you, my dear. You’ll make some lucky young man very happy one day.”  

San-Li's mouth twists at that and Mr. Andrews gives a small chuckle. He then grabs her hand and gives it a small polite kiss. San-Li's expression becomes sober again. 

“Thomas, please,” She whispers but Mr. Andrews doesn’t seem to hear her.  

He moves away from them, back towards the fireplace. He just stands there, staring into the fire, looking deep in thought. He doesn’t even seem to realize that they’re still there or that some of the fancy pieces on the mantel are sliding forward and onto the floor. San-Li also looks deep in thought staring at him, her arms folded over herself like she was cold. Outside people were still screaming, but even that seems far off. But not completely.  

“So,” Fred says to break the awkward, heavy silence, “should we go now or...” 

“Yeah,” Sam suddenly blinks and shakes himself, “yeah, yeah, we definitely should go now.” He hesitates though and looks at San-Li who’s still staring at Mr. Andrews, “Um... are you... going to be okay?” 

He starts to lift a hand towards her shoulder but before he can touch her, she suddenly stiffens.  

“Don’t touch me, loser,” She growls without turning around.  

Sam snatches his hand back and lets it fall back to his side. San-Li pulls a pocket watch out of the waist of her dress. Without seeming to care that Mr. Andrews was still in the room with them, she presses a button and warps away in a flash of blue-green light.  

Mr. Andrews doesn’t even glance up. Fred sends Sam a questioning look, but he just shrugs. Fred shrugs too. It doesn’t seem like Mr. Andrews is paying attention to anything anymore. So, before anything else can happen, Fred opens The Book and the green mist swirls around them, warping them home, 

* * *

The green mist dumps them hard on the linoleum kitchen floor, but Fred still hasn’t been more relieved to be in his kitchen.  

“Whew, glad we made it out of that one in one piece,” He sighs. 

“Um...” Sam gulps audibly, “think again.” 

Again, a chill runs up Fred’s spine and he looks up to see Fina’s glare has cooled about ten degrees. She kneels down slowly and snatches The Book from Fred’s hands.  

“If you ever,” She says in a low voice, “take this without permission again, you won’t like what I do to you.” 

Joe’s said similar words to them (mostly to Fred) before hundreds of times, but for some reason, it’s a little scarier coming from her. But Fred does his best to play it off with a smile and a shrug. 

“Finny, relax,” He laughs weakly, “This sort of thing used to happen all the time. It’s no big deal.” 

“It is now,” Fina stands up and grabs her stuff, “And stop calling me Finny!” 

She storms out of the kitchen and Fred and Sam both jump a little when the front door slams.  

“Well that could have gone better,” Sam grumbles. 

“Tell me about it,” Fred shakes his head and looks around the still dirty kitchen. “The least she could have done is stay and help us clean up.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is finally posted and now there's just the epilogue to go. Hopefully, it won't take nearly as long but I'm still getting used to being a new mom. Hope you still enjoy.


	6. Epilogue

Sam stifles another yawn as he makes his way to his locker. He never thought it would happen twice in one week, but he’s glad that the school day is finally over. The day itself wasn’t bad (especially compared to yesterday), but he got almost no sleep last night. Under normal circumstances that wouldn’t be a big deal. He’s more than used to spending late nights studying or working on extra projects. But the project he worked on last night was anything but typical. It took three hours, four different language books and two history books, but by midnight he had part of the puzzle box that San-Li had given him translated. And after what he learned; it took him another four hours before he could fall asleep.

  
"I need to get my mind off of this,” Sam sighs, “After I meet the others at Ray’s, maybe I’ll finally start working on that model I bought.”.

When he opens his locker to get his stuff though, he stops when he sees something unfortunately familiar. Another note sits folded on top of his books. Sam immediately feels a sense of dread and annoyance come over him..

  
“Another one?” He grumbles, “Don’t these people ever let up?”.

  
He grabs it, ready to throw it away, but something stops him. Looking at the note again, he notices that it isn’t the same feminine handwriting of the last note. As a matter of fact, the handwriting looks barely legible, worse than Fred’s handwriting even. Sam shakes his head but opens the note anyway..

  
Sam, it reads, Meet me at Olympia diner,3pm. Don’t be late. Come alone..

  
There’s nothing else and no signature, leaving Sam more than a little wary. Chances were that this was another prank or set up. The best thing he could do is just throw the note away and pretend he never saw it. He crumbles the note up, but again something stops him. Curiosity maybe? The handwriting is completely different from the last note. Besides, if it looked like it was going to be a trick, he could always just leave..

  
“Hey Sam!”.

  
Sam jumps and quickly shoves the note in his pocket just as Fred walks up to him with Joe, and of course Fina trailing behind the two of them..

  
“You ready to go to Ray's?” Fred asks and grabs his stomach, “I’m starving and craving sausage and green peppers.”.

  
“You’re always starving, and no, I um, have a chess meet today.”.

  
Sam doesn’t know why he lied. The excuse just kind of came out of his mouth. He probably just doesn’t want his friends to be there if it was a prank. No reason for them to get caught in it. (Or witness him get fooled again)..

  
“You can’t just blow it off?” Joe asks, “I want to hear more about how you two managed to warp yourselves onto the Titanic of all places.”.

  
At the mere mention of it, Fina shoots Fred a dirty look before looking passive again. Sam laughs uncomfortably and finishes packing his things..

  
“Sorry it’s a really meet before our next competition,” he says, “but I’m sure Fred can tell you all about it.”.

  
He hurries off down the hall before any of them could stop him. He definitely doesn’t need to hear the recap of one of the worst warps of his life. Besides, it’s already past two-thirty and it’ll take him at least twenty minutes to get to Olympia Diner..

  
A short walk and long bus ride later Sam barely gets there on time, and pauses at the entrance to look around. There aren’t that many people inside and no one that he recognizes. An old man, a couple of kids in soccer uniforms with one of their dad’s, some middle-aged women, and a girl with dark sunglasses. Just as he wonders if he’s maybe too early (or if the plan was for him to be stood up), the girl with the sunglasses lifts her head and waves him over. Sam hesitates and points to himself, silently asking if she really meant to call him over. She nods but it doesn’t make Sam any less confused. He’s pretty sure he doesn’t know her. Is she from one of his classes? Someone trying to get a tutoring session? It’s happened before. Teachers would recommend him to students but forget to tell him about it. The girl waves at him again a little more insistently and he starts to go over, still trying to place her. She’s wearing a cropped hoodie, jeans, and her hair is pulled back into a messy knot. Up close, there is something familiar about her but Sam still can’t place her..

  
“Um... hi?” He greets her as he slides into the booth across from her. “I’m sorry, but do I know you?”.

  
“Really? You don’t recognize me?” The girl laughs and starts to take off her sunglasses, “No wonder why you didn’t run screaming.”.

  
The sunglasses come off and Sam jumps up with a screech, drawing the attention of everyone in the diner. San-Li sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose..

  
“This bit is getting old. Now calm down before you get us both kicked out.”.

  
Sam swallows, “Did- did you leave that note in my locker? How did you find me?”.

  
“Sit down and maybe I’ll tell you.”.

  
He doesn’t want to, but he slowly does what she says, too afraid to say no. And it’s weird seeing her in modern, casual clothing. Even he didn’t recognize her. What if she starts showing up everywhere?.

  
“So how did you find me?” Sam says again..

  
San-Li shrugs, “I find things for a living. Finding you wasn’t that hard.”.

  
“But my locker?” Sam continues starting to get angry, “That’s a total invasion of my privacy! What did you do? Bribe the janitor or something?”.

  
“What’s the big deal? When we made our little arrangement, you did offer me your info so I could find you later. Remember? So, I could make sure you fulfilled your end of the deal,” San-Li's expression turns sharp, “You weren’t planning on going back on our deal were you?”.

  
“N-No,” Sam pouts and slouches in his seat, “I just don’t like my privacy being invaded that’s all.”.

  
He never actually thought through how they would meet again. Part of him figured they would just run into each other during a warp. A bigger part of him hoped that she would forget all about it so he could too..

  
“Just hand over that translation, I’ll be on my way, and you never have to worry about me bothering you again,” She smiles..

  
Sam jolts in his seat at the mention of that puzzle box. He had almost forgotten about it..

  
“Boston crème pie and chocolate layer cake.”.

  
A waitress stops by their table and drops the desserts in front of San-Li. She digs into the pie eagerly and Sam uses the distraction to take his notes out of his backpack. He eyes the silver ring still on her thumb and is anxious all over again. How was she going to react when she finds out that ring is actually-.

  
“Hot fudge sundae, cookies and cream shake, and double chocolate chip cookies,” Another waitress drops off more dessert items..

  
Sam eyes all the desserts in confusion, “Are you, um, planning on meeting anyone else here?”.

  
“Not that it’s any of your business but no,” San-Li says with a mouthful of cake, “Now I’m tired of waiting. What’d you got?”.

  
“Hold your horses, I’m getting to it!” Sam swallows nervously though and fidgets with his notebook, “Before I tell you what I have though, just know that I haven’t finished the entire translation yet and there might still be a way out of it.”.

  
San-Li stops eating and gives him a confused look, “Out of what?”.

  
“Um... this,” Sam pulls out the puzzle box and puts it on the table, “I don’t know who told you that this was some sort of protection, but that’s not quite what that ring does. It actually... um...”.

  
He loses his nerve and starts flipping through the notebook, “From what I have translated so far, the box seems to have parts of a lost Sumerian myth. You probably didn’t know this but Sumerians believed in anthropomorphic polytheism which means they believed in many gods in human form. One of those gods were Enki. He was the god of water, knowledge, mischief, crafts, and creation, but the Hittites also believed he was the god of contracts and introduced humans to early forms of civilizations. And according to this box he-”.

  
“Alright already professor brainiac! You did a lot of homework, I get it!” San-Li snaps, “Will you get to the point already!?”.

  
Sam frowns at the new insult, “The ring makes magically enforced deals, okay? A deal that we happened to be caught up in.”.

  
San-Li stares at him blankly, “What are you talking about? What deal?”.

  
“The deal we made in the cargo hold,” Sam groans and pulls at his hair, “When we said that we’d help each other out. I’d translate the box and you’d help us get off the Titanic. We made a deal and the ring locked it down.”.

  
“Well that’s stupid,” San-Li huffs and glares at the ring, “I guess that means this thing is useless then huh?”.

  
She starts to tug at it, but it doesn’t budge. She blows out an annoyed breath and tugs harder. Sam grimaces as he watches her struggle with it. He wishes the ring was useless. That would solve all of his problems. Or, their problems actually..

  
“You might as well stop,” He sighs finally, “because it’s not coming off until our deal is done.”.

  
“What are you talking about? It is done,” San-Li grumbles trying to bite off the ring, “You’re off the Titanic and now I know this ring is useless.”.

  
“But that wasn’t the deal we made!” Sam bursts out, “The deal was that I help you, you help me! Which is super vague; which means that we’re stuck in this- this- open-ended contract for who knows how long!”.

  
A horrified expression slowly dawns over San-Li's face as his words sinks in. Sam nods and explains further,.

  
“From what I translated, the way the ring works is supposed to be this: one person wears the ring and makes a deal with another person. After the deal is sealed the ring locks down and won’t come off until the deal is completed. And since our deal was so vague that it doesn’t technically have an end, it...it...”.

  
Sam trails off as San-Li bursts out laughing. He stares at her wondering if she really was insane. He couldn’t sleep all night because of this, there was no way she could actually find this funny..

  
“This is a joke, right?” She asks, a bit of desperation coming into her voice, “You have to be, or else I’d have to kill you right here and now.”.

  
“I wouldn’t joke about something like this!” Sam looks around for the emergency exit just in case. “From what I could translate there is a stipulation for vague deals, but I haven’t been able to translate that part yet. It’s something to do with lunar cycles and celestial bodies.”.

  
San-Li stares at him for a long moment before groaning and falling back against the booth with her eyes closed..

  
“This isn’t happening,” she mumbles under her breath, “This is why I don’t deal with magic. I try to make one exception and now I’m stuck in some endless contract with a nerd.”.

  
Sam shoots her a glare, “You think I’m thrilled about this? I don’t get myself into situations like this. Something this thoughtless is something Fred would do, not me. He and Joe are going to have a field day with this.”.

  
“You’re not telling them!” San-Li barks, “You’re not telling anyone about this! Do you know how embarrassing this is for me? To get tricked by some dweeb and a magic Rubik’s Cube? I’m the one who tricks people! I don’t get tricked!”.

  
Sam hates to admit it, but she has a point. About the embarrassment part. But still, Joe and Fred are his best friends. Who else could he tell?.

  
“Wait a minute,” He says suddenly, “Maybe I should tell Joe! He could look in The Book and find out if there’s a way out of this. If not him, Fina could know.”.

  
Something close to fear comes across San-Li's face, “What? No! I told you not to tell anyone! Especially not him! Do you know what he and that blonde pet of his could do to me!?”.

  
“Nothing that you wouldn’t probably deserve,” Sam mumbles under his breath and pulls out his cellphone..

  
But as soon as he tries to find Joe’s contact in his phone, a sharp pain goes through his head and his vision blurs so badly that he can’t see the screen..

  
“Ah!” He drops his phone in panic and pain, but when he looks up at San-Li, his vision and the pain clears. He gives her an accusing look, “What did you just do?”.

  
“Me?” San-Li looks genuinely confused, “I didn’t do anything.”.

  
“Then why did-” He tries to look at Joe’s contact again and the pain and blurriness immediately returns. “Ow!”.

  
“Oh, I get it,” San-Li looks down at her ring, “It won’t let you call that warp runt because that wouldn’t be very helpful to me.”.

  
“What?” Realization dawns on him though and he feels the blood drain from his face, “Oh no.”.

  
“It seems like there are consequences to not fulfilling our little ‘deal’,” A terrifying, mischievous smirk looms on San-Li's face, “Maybe I should take advantage of this... predicament.”.

  
“No,” Sam shakes his head in horror, “No, no, no, no.”.

  
“Oh relax, it’s not anything too terrible. Especially for someone like you.”.

  
She takes his notebook and starts flipping through his notes. Sam cringes a little. He had done more than just a simple translation. In order to fully understand just what he was reading; he had basically done a brief history of Sumerian culture and mythology. Just more fodder for San-Li to make fun of him..

  
“This is pretty impressive,” She says instead, “And it could be very useful to me.”.

  
Sam starts to relax a little, “That’s it? You just want my notes?”.

  
“No, I want you,” She smirks, “To assist me with my... jobs.”.

  
“You want me to help you steal!?” this time Sam really does jump up out of his seat, “No way! I’m not doing that!”.

  
“Like I’d let you,” San-Li scoffs, “I work alone, kid. No, what I want you to do is all my research. Give me all the historical mumbo-jumbo of my targets. Think you can handle that?”.

  
He immediately wants to refuse but feels another headache coming on. Reluctantly, he sits down again and nods..

  
“Good. Now let’s lay down some ground rules. One- we tell no one. Neither of us want to be involved with each other, there’s no reason to involve anyone else.”.

  
“At least we agree on one thing,” Sam grumbles..

  
“Two,” San-Li continues with a frown, “I don’t lie to you, you don’t lie to me. It’s bad enough that we have to associate with each other. It’d be easier if we could... somewhat trust each other.”.

  
“That’ll never happen, but fine. No lying. Anything else?”.

  
“Yeah, three- if you keep insulting me, I’ll make you wish you were still on the Titanic.”.

  
Sam opens his mouth, ready to point out that she’s been insulting him this entire time, but the edgy look in her eyes stops him and he closes his mouth again..

  
“Good boy, and four, don’t ask me any personal questions. Because I won’t answer them. As soon as this ring or deal or whatever it is wears off, we will finally go our separate ways and never see each other again.”.

  
“That sounds perfectly fine to me,” Sam sighs feeling the day and this messed up situation catch up to him, “Do you mind if I go now? I have actual homework to do.”.

  
“Be mu guest, kid. But here, let’s trade numbers so I don’t have to hunt you down again.”.

  
She pulls out her phone from her hoodie pocket and hands it to Sam, then holds her hand out for his. He ignores her outstretched hand though and just uses her phone to text himself. Her phone vibrates with his text and he hands it back..

  
“Here,” he grumbles, “satisfied? You have my cell number so you don’t have to leave any more notes in my locker. Now can I go?”.

  
San-Li rolls her eyes and dismisses him with a wave of her hand. Sam practically bolts from the booth and rushes out the diner before she can change her mind..

  
Once outside he breathes in the fresh air like he’s been locked in a dungeon instead of the worst meeting of his life. Just as he starts to head home though, ready to try and put this all behind him, his phone vibrates with a new text. A smiling devil emoji from an unknown number. Sam frowns and saves the new contact as “The Devil”, knowing that it had to be her. It’s petty, but it does make him feel a little better..

  
Xxxxx_xxxxxxx.

  
Elsewhere:.

  
Lord Beauchene steps out into the backyard where the garden is in full bloom and to his specifications. He walks through it to the towering rose hedges where his daughter is. Joleena is standing at the end of the row, dutifully practicing her magic like he asked her to. Jeremy pauses for a moment to proudly admire her. She stands with perfect posture; her hands move gracefully in the air and her lips barely move as she casts her spell. Her magic sparkles around the rose in question, turning it from the snowy white it naturally is to a vivid red..

  
“Excellent work, ma fille,” He nods in approval, “your technique is nearly perfect.”.

  
“Thank you, daddy,” Joleena turns to him with a smile, “Are you done with your meeting now? Because I was thinking that maybe we could go shopping together. And perhaps get something to eat afterwards?”.

  
“Hmmm, yes that might be...” He trails off though as he examines one of the colored roses. To the untrained eye the rose looks completely red. But to his expert eye, he can see a slight shimmer over the rose, like a hologram..

  
“Joleena,” He frowns, “this is just an illusionment spell. You were supposed to change the roses’ very biology.”.

  
Joleena sighs and starts working on the next rose, “Oh what does it matter? They’re red aren’t they? Is that not the point?”.

  
“The point is for you to practice your floral biologic spell casting,” He says sternly, “You’ll just have to do the whole thing over again.”.

  
“But daddy, it’s tres difficile-”.

  
“No excuses.”.

  
Jeremy waves his hand and the illusionment immediately shatters, returning all seven of the rose hedges back to their original white color. Joleena tenses and Jeremy prepares for her defiance, but her shoulder drop and when she speaks her voice is humble..

  
“Oui, papa.”.

  
Jeremy nods and watches as she begins anew with the rose she was previously working on. This time her posture is more rigid and she struggles with the Latin incantation. The rose trembles, almost violently, before slowly reddening to a deep pink..

  
“Better, but you still need much improvement,” He admonishes her, “As Beauchenes we must be perfect and diligent in our arts.”.

  
“Oui, papa.”.

  
“But there is another matter I wish to discuss with you.”.

  
“Oui, papa?”.

  
“It regards that Warp Wizard boy.”.

  
“Oui, pa- oh,” a faint frown creases her forehead, “what about him?”.

  
“You sent that letter out like I asked you to, oui?”.

  
“Oui, I did,” Joleena sighs and glances over her shoulder at him, “but I don’t understand why you want to bother with him. I thought we didn’t involve ourselves with time magic.”.

  
“As my successor you’ll soon learn that it is our duty to involve ourselves in all things that concern magic. No matter how beneath us it might seem.” He regards the roses for a moment before adding quietly under his breath, “Besides, he may be of some… use to me.”.

  
“I’m sorry, papa?”.

  
“Nothing, sweetheart,” Jeremy says quickly and glances at his watch, “Now I have to run if I want to make my next meeting. I trust that you’ll complete your task without any more... shortcuts?”.

  
Joleena’s eyes lower before she goes back to changing the rose colors, “Oui, papa.”


End file.
